Correcting stress incontinence after prolapse surgery

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

Adding a bladder-supporting procedure to prolapse surgery helps women avoid complications.
Stress incontinence is a common side effect of surgery to correct pelvic organ prolapse, a problem in which the vagina and nearby organs fall out of position. However, researchers at Loyola University have found that if they add a procedure known as Burch colposuspension to prolapse surgery, then stress incontinence can be avoided.

The study involved 332 women in nine centers across the USA. One in four women having surgery without the Burch procedure developed stress incontinence. Adding the four stitches of the Burch procedure reduced this rate to one woman in 20. The findings should be helpful to the 200,000 or so American women who need prolapse surgery each year.

Source
New England Journal of Medicine 12th April 2006

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