Addressing the limitations of observational studies on native-tissue apical prolapse surgery with hysterectomy or hysteropexy (Reply to Letter-to-the-Editor).

BackgroundIatrogenic endometriosis is the presence of endometrial glands and stroma out of the uterus following certain surgical interventions. The rate of iatrogenic endometriosis after gynecologic surgeries due to benign uterine disease is 1–2%. Laparoscopic supracervical hysterectomy is also a part of frequently used surgical treatment of apical pelvic organ prolapse, which is followed by sacrocervicopexy. However, there are no data about iatrogenic endometriosis after apical prolapse surgery in the current literature. Herein, we present a case report of a patient diagnosed with de novo endometriosis 1 year after laparoscopic supracervical hysterectomy and sacrocervicopexy.Case presentationA 46-year-old parous Slavic woman who underwent laparoscopic supracervical hysterectomy and sacrocervicopexy secondary to grade 3 symptomatic apical prolapse 1 year earlier was admitted to the same clinic with pelvic pain that had started 6 months following surgery. Deep vaginal palpation was painful. Transvaginal ultrasonography revealed an area with hypervascularization on the sacral promontory. She was scheduled for diagnostic laparoscopy. A 2 × 2-cm solid, wine-colored, hypervascular hemorrhagic lesion was seen on the sacral promontory. The lesion and the peritoneal layer behind it were totally excised. The patient was discharged on the first postoperative day, without any complications. Pathologic examination revealed foci of endometriosis comprising endometrial glands and stroma within the connective tissue, along with hemosiderin-laden macrophages. The symptoms of the patient resolved after the surgery, and no further adjuvant treatment was needed.ConclusionAlthough the rate of iatrogenic endometriosis is low after laparoscopic supracervical hysterectomy and sacrocervicopexy, the possibility of the occurrence of iatrogenic endometriosis should be discussed with patients who are diagnosed with apical prolapse to determine the type of surgical intervention. Iatrogenic endometriosis should be kept in mind for differential diagnosis in case of pain after laparoscopic supracervical hysterectomy and sacrocervicopexy.

Obesity is increasing worldwide, and data are limited on how body mass index (BMI) affects surgical risk in pelvic organ prolapse. This study is aimed at evaluating the impact of obesity on outcomes after apical pelvic organ prolapse surgery. We hypothesize that obese patients have higher rates of postoperative complications. This is a retrospective cohort study using the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database from 2014 to 2018. Current Procedural Terminology codes identified subjects aged 18-89 who underwent apical prolapse repair, including vaginal colpopexy and laparoscopic or robotic sacrocolpopexy. Minor and major complications were analyzed using the World Health Organization BMI category. Regression analysis was performed to adjust for confounders. The total cohort was 24,718 with 15,137 vaginal colpopexy and 9,581 laparoscopic/robotic sacrocolpopexy. The average age was 60.1, 76.5% were white, 24.2% were American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) class 3 or 4, and 44.7% had a major medical comorbidity. Eight hundred and eighty-five patients (5.4%) experienced a minor complication, 324 (2.0%) a major complication, and 1,167 (7.2%) any complication. There was no difference in any, major, or minor complication by BMI and this persisted after adjusting for age, race, ASA class, smoking, and surgical approach. There is no difference in complication rates after apical prolapse surgery by BMI regardless of age, race, ASA class, smoking use, and surgical approach. Patients and surgeons should be reassured that minimally invasive apical prolapse surgery is safe, with low complication rates. Randomized controlled trials are needed to verify these findings.

To estimate whether the urinary force of stream method is noninferior to a standard fill voiding trial for rate of catheterization within 6 weeks after apical prolapse surgery in those discharged without a catheter. A noninferiority randomized controlled trial was conducted in postoperative women comparing force of stream with standard fill voiding trials after vaginal, abdominal, or laparoscopic-robotic apical pelvic organ prolapse (POP) surgery. Before discharge, women in both groups were backfilled with 300 mL normal saline. Successful voiding criteria in the force of stream group was subjective force of stream of at least 50 using a visual analog scale; reporting less than 50 prompted a bladder scan. Successful voiding was defined as a postvoid residual volume of less than 500 mL. For the standard fill voiding trial group, voiding two thirds of the instilled amount indicated success. The primary outcome was the rate of catheterization within the 6-week postoperative period after surgical repair of apical prolapse among those discharged without a urinary catheter. Secondary endpoints included trial of void failure rates. A sample size of 59 patients per group who passed trial of void at discharge was needed to achieve 80% power using a noninferiority margin (delta of 10%). Total enrollment of 169 patients was necessary to account for an estimated 30% trial of void failure rate. From April 2016 and April 2017, 184 patients were enrolled (six enrolled before the trial registration date), with the first patient enrolled on April 1, 2016. One hundred seventy-four patients were randomized (86 in the force of stream group and 88 in the standard fill voiding trial group). No differences were observed in demographic or perioperative characteristics, except for stage 2 apical prolapse (52% in the force of stream group vs 36% in the standard fill voiding trial group). For the primary outcome, similar rates were found in those patients who passed their trial of void but subsequently needed catheterization for voiding dysfunction (force of stream 2.8% [2/71] vs standard fill voiding trial 3.1% [2/64]; difference -0.3%, 95% CI -8.69% to 8.08%). The incidence of trial of void failures at discharge was similar (force of stream 17.4% [15/86] vs standard fill voiding trial 26.4% [23/87]; risk ratio 0.65, 95% CI 0.37-1.18, P=nonsignificant). Force of stream was noninferior to standard fill voiding trial when comparing the rate of catheter insertion during the 6-week postoperative period after apical POP surgery in those discharged without a catheter. ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02753920.

Racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities have been observed in the mode of pelvic organ prolapse surgery. Some of the disparities may be attributed to differences in access to care and advanced surgical technology across the United States, although this is difficult to study. We aimed to investigate whether racial/ethnic or socioeconomic disparities in a mode of prolapse surgery exist in a managed care setting, where differences in access are minimized. This was a retrospective cohort study of patients who underwent apical pelvic organ prolapse surgery within Kaiser Permanente Southern California facilities between 2014 and 2017. We conducted bivariate tests to examine the associations between patient characteristics and multivariate logistic regression to predict the odds of having obliterative and native tissue repair surgical procedures by race and income. The analytic sample consisted of 2,798 patients who underwent prolapse surgery. Hispanic/Latina, Non-Hispanic White, Non-Hispanic Black, Asian, and "other" race represented 51.1%, 37.0%, 5.7%, 5.3%, and 0.8% of the sample, respectively. Median household income varied by racial groups. After adjusting for patient characteristics and regional factors, we did not find significant differences in apical prolapse surgery mode by race/ethnicity or income level. Within this managed care setting, no disparities in mode of apical prolapse surgery were observed by race/ethnicity or income level when regional and patient-level confounders were controlled for, such as prolapse stage and comorbidities. This may suggest that a significant driver of racial/ethnic disparities observed in prolapse surgery may be attributed to structural level factors.

Complete Excision of Sacrocolpopexy Mesh With Autologous Fascia Sacrocolpopexy

Operating room variables: Endoscopic vs. vaginal surgery in postmenopausal women with apical prolapse. An analysis of retrospective data

IntroductionTo evaluate patient‐reported outcomes and clinical findings after surgery for apical prolapse with the transvaginal Uphold mesh technique. Moreover, to evaluate the rate of mesh‐related complications.Material and MethodsA historical cohort study of patients who underwent surgery from January 1, 2012 to April 30, 2019, at Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark. Pelvic examination and patient completion of questionnaires were performed in 2018–2019. Information on adverse events and reoperations was obtained from medical records.ResultsA total of 240 patients were operated on using the Uphold mesh, 89% due to recurrent prolapse. Follow‐up was attended by 192 patients (80%). Median follow‐up time was 30 months, interquartile range 19–52. During follow‐up, 29 patients (15%) underwent reoperation due to prolapse and are considered failures. Among the remaining, patient satisfaction was high. Thus, average score for pelvic symptoms affecting daily life was 2, on a scale of 0–10, where 0 represents no symptoms. The Patient Global Impression of Improvement (PGI‐I) had an average score of 6.4 (1: very much worse; 7 very much better). Preoperatively, 89.5% of the women had grade 2 or more apical prolapse, whereas at follow‐up, this was only 6.1%. Perioperative heavy bleeding needing embolization was observed in one patient (0.5%). Two patients had serious constriction of the ureter and needed re‐operation. Postoperative complications, primarily temporary voiding problems, were observed in 15 patients (8%). Complications during the follow‐up period were registered in 23 patients (12%); eight of these were mesh erosions. Due to complications, 11 patients (6%) needed re‐operation.ConclusionsThe study confirms that the Uphold procedure in a centralized set‐up is a procedure with high patient‐reported satisfaction even in a population characterized by a high proportion of recurrent prolapse. Moreover, the procedure seems safe with acceptable complication rates.

The incidence of ureteral obstruction and the value of intraoperative cystoscopy during vaginal surgery for pelvic organ prolapse

Background Patient satisfaction with same-day discharge after apical prolapse surgery has not been studied in the setting of the COVID-19 pandemic. Widespread implementation of same-day discharge for urogynecologic procedures has the potential to decrease hospital crowding, cost to patients, and the potential risks of in-patient stays, which are especially important to consider amid an ongoing pandemic. This study aims to investigate patient satisfaction with same-day discharge after minimally invasive urogynecologic surgery for apical vaginal prolapse during the COVID-19 pandemic. Patients and Methods All patients undergoing apical prolapse surgery at a single academic institution during the COVID-19 pandemic from March 2020 to December 2021 were queried using applicable CPT codes. In this observational cohort study, each participant was surveyed by phone. The validated Surgical Satisfaction Questionnaire (SSQ-8) was used to assess general satisfaction with the surgical experience, and additional questions were asked to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on patient satisfaction. Results One hundred and twenty-six patients met inclusion criteria and 60 patients (47.6%) chose to participate in the study. SSQ-8 scores revealed high overall satisfaction with the surgical experience (34.7 ± 5.7 out of 40). The majority of patients, 43 (71.7%), found that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic had “no impact” on their surgical satisfaction. Conclusions Same-day discharge after surgery for apical vaginal prolapse is regarded as highly satisfactory and safe by the majority of patients. Overall, the COVID-19 pandemic had no impact on patient satisfaction with same-day discharge after urogynecologic surgery at our institution.

This study aimed to determine factors influencing the selection of Mayo-McCall culdoplasty (MMC), open abdominal sacrocolpopexy (ASC), or robotic sacrocolpopexy (RSC) for posthysterectomy vaginal vault prolapse. We retrospectively searched for the records of patients undergoing posthysterectomy apical vaginal prolapse surgery between January 1, 2000, and June 30, 2012, at our institution. Baseline characteristics and explicit selection factors were abstracted from the electronic medical records. Factors were compared between groups using χ tests for categorical variables, analysis of variance for continuous variables, and Kruskal-Wallis tests for ordinal variables. Among the 512 patients identified who met inclusion criteria, the MMC group (n = 174) had more patients who were older, had American Society of Anesthesiologists class 3+ or greater, had anterior vaginal prolapse grade 3+, desired to avoid abdominal surgery, and did not desire a functional vagina. Patients in the ASC (n = 237) and RSC (n = 101) groups had more failed prolapse surgeries, suspected abdominopelvic pathologic processes, and chronic pain. Advanced prolapse was more frequently cited as an explicit selection factor for ASC than for either MMC or RSC. The most common factors that influenced the type of apical vaginal vault prolapse surgery overlapped with characteristics that differed at baseline. In general, MMC was chosen for advanced anterior vaginal prolapse and baseline characteristics that increased surgical risks, ASC for advanced apical prolapse, and ASC or RSC for recurrent prolapse, suspected abdominal pathology, and patients with chronic pain or lifestyles including heavy lifting. Thus, efforts should be made to attempt to control for selection bias when comparing these procedures.

Effect of BMI on Outcomes after Surgery for Apical Pelvic Organ Prolapse

5: Long-term outcomes and predictors of failure after surgery for stage iv apical pelvic organ prolapse

Pelvic organ prolapse is a common diagnosis. Today there is no consensus on the ideal operation technique for apical prolapse. Vaginal hysterectomy with suspension of the vaginal cuff is the most frequently used, but the popularity of uterus-preserving techniques is increasing. The aim of this study was to describe trends in surgical techniques used to treat primary apical prolapse in Danish hospitals. Data were obtained from the Danish Urogynecological Database and included women with primary prolapse surgery in the apical compartment operated in Denmark 2010-2016. Public hospital departments were divided into three categories according to degree of urogynecological specialization: high level, moderate level, and no specialization. The number of vaginal hysterectomies decreased and the number of uterus-preserving operations increased from 2010 to 2016. The proportion of uterus-preserving techniques versus vaginal hysterectomy differed substantially between different hospital types. At departments with high and moderate levels of specialization, uterus-preserving techniques increased during the period, accounting for nearly 90% and 40%, respectively, in 2016, while decreasing to < 35% for departments with no specialization. Three of the four departments with high-level specialization preferred the Manchester-Fothergill procedure, while one preferred sacrospinous hysteropexy. Only 2.3% of all procedures were performed at private hospitals. The proportion of uterus-preserving techniques to treat apical prolapse increased from 2010 to 2016. However, there is a wide variation in practice at the different hospitals. An agreement on uterus-preserving techniques has not been reached.

Long-term comparison of non-mesh anchoring vs mini mesh for apical suspension.

The aim of this work was to determine the degree of symptom relief and survival free of retreatment after Mayo-McCall culdoplasty (MMC), open abdominal sacrocolpopexy (ASC), and robotic sacrocolpopexy (RSC) for posthysterectomy vaginal vault prolapse. We retrospectively studied patients who had undergone surgery for posthysterectomy apical vaginal prolapse from January 1, 2000, through June 30, 2012, at our institution. Baseline characteristics and perioperative outcomes were abstracted from electronic health records. Cross-sectional data for current pelvic floor symptoms were collected by using validated questionnaires. Survival free of retreatment was estimated with the Kaplan-Meier method. To account for selection bias, adjusted analyses using inverse probability weighting (IPW) were performed to compare outcomes for MMC versus ASC, MMC versus RSC, and ASC versus RSC. Of 512 patients, 337 completed at least a validated or abbreviated questionnaire. Among MMC, ASC, and RSC groups, overall Pelvic Floor Distress Inventory 20, Pelvic Floor Impact Questionnaire Short Form 7, and Pelvic Organ Prolapse/Urinary Incontinence Sexual Function Questionnaire 12 summary scores were not significantly different. There was no significant difference in 5-year survival free of retreatment for MMC (94.0%) versus RSC (95.5%) and ASC (94.8%) versus RSC (92.1%). However, patients who had MMC were more likely to have retreatment than patients who had ASC during the first 10 years (10-year survival free of retreatment: 81.1% vs 95.4%; hazard ratio, 3.68 [95% confidence interval, 1.51-8.98]); the 10-year data were not available for RSC comparisons, given the later initiation of RSC. Symptom relief was comparable after MMC, ASC, and RSC. Among all groups, most patients were free of retreatment for prolapse at 5 years. Between the MMC and ASC groups, survival free of retreatment (%) within 10 years was still favorable, but ASC had greater durability, particularly after accounting for selection bias.