Overweight and obesity are becoming a worldwide health problem associated with numerous co-morbidities. National costs of obesity and pelvic flor disorders have been rising since the 1950s across the world. Obesity is thought to have a very strong effect on pelvic floor disorders, and, considering the high prevalence of both problems worldwide, it is of utmost importance to evaluate the association between these pathologies as well as the impact of obesity on treatment efficacy. This review is based on a selection of reports in the literature (PubMed search), including guidelines and Cochrane reviews.Obesity seems to be a well-documented risk factor for lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and is a predictor of exacerbation of stress urinary incontinence (SUI) and overactive bladder (OAB). Weight loss is also associated with improvement or resolution of SUI and OAB. In the case of pelvic organ prolapse (POP), weight loss is associated with improvement in quality of life. Although obesity is associated with POP in general, the exact role of obesity in symptomatic POP remains uncertain. While outcomes of anti-incontinence surgery among obese women are similar to those in non-obese women, postoperative urge incontinence is more likely to occur. It seems that obesity is not a risk factor for postoperative complications or short-term efficacy of POP surgical treatment. Long-term effects are still uncertain.Obesity is a strong risk factor for LUTS, but in most cases it does not affect efficacy of operative treatment. It may be associated with some post-operative complications. Weight loss in many cases allows avoiding surgical intervention.

Differences in urethral length in the female population were demonstrated. Thirty percent of patients have atypical urethras that may be a risk factor for sling surgery failure. We therefore postulate introduction of urethral measurement before the procedure.

Age, obesity and vaginal deliveries (VD) are recognized risk factors for stress urinary incontinence (SUI). According to many authors, the abovementioned risk factors for incontinence also increase the risk of mid-urethral sling (MUS) failure. Our aim was to evaluate the objective and subjective effectiveness of retropubic MUS in 12 months observation, relative to the three potential risk factors of failure: obesity, age and VDs. A prospective observational study including 238 women who underwent retropubic MUS implantation was performed. Patients were divided into subgroups: obese vs non-obese, <65 vs ≥65 years old and no history of VD vs ≥1 VD. Follow-up took place between 6 and 12 months post-surgery. Cough test, 1-hour pad test, pelvic floor ultrasound examination, and Incontinence Impact Questionnaire 7 (IIQ-7) results were assessed pre- and post-operatively. Of the 238 patients, 208 (86.3%) completed a minimum follow-up period of 12 months. Significant improvement in the pad test was observed in all patients (83.2 ± 78.6 g vs 0.7 ± 3.3 g). Negative cough test results were obtained in over 94% of patients. Significant improvement in the IIQ7 results was observed in all patients (74.2 ± 17.7 vs 5.5 ± 13.4). No significant differences in all the analyzed parameters with regard to BMI, age and parity were observed. No combination of risk factors influenced the objective and subjective cure rates. Our study demonstrated that older age, obesity and history of VDs have no impact on objective and subjective sling effectiveness in a short term observation. There is no influence of combined demographic features on the failure risk.

Mid urethral sling is the standard in SUI treatment. Nevertheless, the risk of reoperation reaches 9%. There is no consensus as to the best treatment option for complications. A question is raised: what is the optimal way to achieve the best result in patients after primary failure? The aim of the study was to evaluate the outcomes of repeat MUS surgery in patients after excision of the sling with recurrent SUI. We compared its effectiveness with uncomplicated cases treated with TVT. 27 patients who underwent the repeated MUS and 50 consecutive patients after primary TVT were enrolled in the study. After 6 months, we have found that 24 (88.46%) patients from repeat sling group and 48 (96%) patients after primary sling were dry (1-hour pad test, 2 g or less). The difference between groups was not significant. We showed statistically significant improvement of quality of life in both groups. In conclusion, we showed that repeated sling after MUS excision is almost as effective as primary MUS. We postulate that sling excision and repeated MUS may be the best option for persistent SUI and/or complications after MUS procedures. Further multicenter observations are ongoing as to provide results on bigger group of cases.

Suboptimal sling location appears to result from incorrect surgical technique, and should be diagnosed and treated early after the primary surgery. Sling location does not change after mid-term follow up.

The data concerning epidemiological determinants of the bladder neck (BN) mobility are scarce. The aim of the study was to determine epidemiological features and identify factors influencing BN position at rest and BN mobility in patients without pelvic organ prolapse (POP). Seven hundred and ninety-six patients that attended two outpatient clinics were enrolled in the study. Position and mobility of the BN were measured with the use of pelvic floor ultrasound. Demographic and functional factors that were hypothesized to influence BN mobility were assessed. Vaginal deliveries (VDs) and age ≥65 were associated with lower BN position at rest. Higher BN mobility was observed in women with stress urinary incontinence (SUI). In obese women, higher BN position and lower BN mobility was observed compared to non-obese women, and it was correlated with longer urethras in this group of patients. VDs and their number were associated with increased BN mobility, independently of body mass index (BMI). To conclude, obesity, VDs, and age are factors associated with changes in bladder neck position at rest and its mobility. Higher BMI correlates with restricted BN mobility, and, therefore, the incidence of SUI in obese patients is probably not connected to BN hypermobility.

Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) often co-occurs with stress urinary incontinence. There is no consensus on whether prolapse repair and anti-incontinence surgery should be performed concomitantly or separately, in a two-step manner. The present study evaluated the effects of the tension-free vaginal tape (TVT) procedure in patients who had previously undergone pelvic floor repair (study group), compared to women who underwent TVT insertion only (control group). The study group comprised 84 patients who underwent the TVT procedure but had previously also undergone surgical POP repair. The control group consisted of 250 women in whom the TVT was inserted. The primary objective was to compare the objective cure rate and the secondary objective was to compare the subjective cure rate in both groups. Negative pad test was achieved in over 91% in both groups. Objective and subjective cure rates were compared, as well as complication rates. Significant improvement was observed in the postoperative 1-h pad test in all patients. In all patients, we observed significant improvement in the quality of life, with no differences between the groups. No differences were found in the occurrence of postoperative urinary retention, urgency and frequency of daytime micturition, or vaginal erosion between the groups. The current results demonstrate that the two-step approach to pelvic reconstruction and anti-incontinence surgery is as safe and effective as primary TVT implantation.

IntroductionObesity is one of the well-documented risk factors of pelvic floor disorders (PFDs). The PFDs include urinary and fecal incontinence (UI, FI) and pelvic organ prolapse (POP). Surgery-induced weight loss improves different kinds of incontinence as well as POP symptoms. However, there is a lack of evidence how bariatric surgery influences pelvic floor anatomy and function in women without previous PFDs and whether it may be concerned as PFD prophylaxis tool.Materials and MethodsThe present analysis is a prospective, non-randomized case-control study from January 2014 to September 2017. Participants underwent pelvic floor ultrasound examination with bladder neck position estimation at rest, during levator ani tension, and at Valsalva maneuver before surgery and 12–18 months after. Pelvic organ prolapse quantification (POPQ) > 2 stage and PFD complaints were the exclusion criteria.ResultsFifty-nine patients underwent bariatric surgery (57 sleeve gastrectomy and 2 gastric bypass). Mean BMI decreased from 43.8 ± 5.9 to 29 ± 4.6 kg/m2 after surgery (p < 0.001). Statistically significant higher position of the bladder neck at rest, during tension, and at Valsalva maneuver (p < 0.05) was shown after surgery. We did not demonstrate differences in bladder neck mobility and bladder neck elevation at tension after weight loss.ConclusionsBariatric surgery is associated with a betterment of bladder neck position at rest, tension, and Valsalva maneuver in women without PFDs. We postulate that bariatric surgery may be a tool for PFD prevention. It does not improve levator ani function and does not limit bladder neck mobility, which implicates that it has no influence on preexisting pelvic dysfunction.