N JUNE 8, 2006, THE FOOD and Drug Administration (FDA) licensed the quadrivalent human papillomavirus recombinant vaccine (qHPV) (Gardasil; Merck & Co, Inc, Whitehouse Station, New Jersey) for females aged 9 to 26 years to prevent infection with genital human papillomavirus (HPV) types 6, 11, 16, and 18. 1 Later that month, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommended routine vaccination of females aged 11 to 12 years with 3 doses of qHPV and catch-up vaccination for females aged 13 to 26 years. Doses are administered intramuscularly on a schedule of 0, 2, and 6 months. 2 The viruses HPV-16 and HPV-18 can cause cervical cancer, other anogenital cancers, and precancerous or dysplastic lesions and are responsible for about 70% of cervical cancers worldwide. 3 The viruses HPV-6 and HPV-11 are the most common causes of genital warts. Prior to licensure, clinical trials were conducted in more than 21 000 women. Vaccination with qHPV was 90% to 100% effective in preventing precancerous cervical, vaginal, and vulvar lesions and genital warts caused by infection with the relevant HPV types (6, 11, 16, or 18) in women aged 15 to 26 years who were uninfected prior to vaccination. 4,5 Additional immunogenicity and safety studies in 9-to 15-year-See also pp 781 and 795.

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Yellow fever (YF) vaccine has been used for prevention of YF since 1937 with over 500 million doses administered. However, rare reports of severe adverse events following vaccination have raised concerns about the vaccine's safety. We reviewed reports of adverse events following YF vaccination reported to the U.S. Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) from 2000 to 2006. We used estimates of age and sex distribution of administered doses obtained from a 2006 survey of authorized vaccine providers to calculate age- and sex-specific reporting rates of all serious adverse events (SAE), anaphylaxis, YF vaccine-associated neurotropic disease, and YF vaccine-associated viscerotropic disease. Reporting rates of SAEs were substantially higher in males and in persons aged > or =60 years. These findings reinforce the generally acceptable safety profile of YF vaccine, but highlight the importance of physician and traveler education regarding the risks and benefits of YF vaccination, particularly for travelers > or =60 years of age. Vaccination should be limited to persons traveling to areas where the risk of YF is expected to exceed the risk of serious adverse events after vaccination, or if not medically contraindicated, where national regulations require proof of vaccination to prevent introduction of YF.

The use of synthetic mesh to augment vaginal repair procedures for pelvic organ prolapse has increased in large part because of dissatisfaction with the success rates of traditional colporrhaphy. Its use, however, is controversial. Four randomized controlled studies comparing traditional colporrhaphy with vaginal repair using mesh augmentation had conflicting results. This unblinded, prospective, randomized controlled trial investigated whether mesh augmentation during vaginal repair would reduce the rate of recurrent prolapse at 12 months compared with traditional colporrhaphy. A total of 139 women with stage 2 or more prolapse who required both anterior and posterior compartment repair were randomized to mesh augmentation (mesh group, n ϭ 69) or colporrhaphy (no mesh group, n ϭ 70). Study subjects were enrolled between 2003 and 2005 at a tertiary teaching hospital. Prolapse was staged using the pelvic-organ-prolapse quantification (POP-Q) system. The primary study outcome was objective success of surgery defined as the absence of POP-Q stage 2 or more prolapse at 12 months following surgery. Questionnaires were used to assess secondary outcomes including symptoms, quality of life, and patient satisfaction.Of the 139 women, 63 of 69 (93.1%) in the mesh group and 61 of 70 (87.1%) in the no mesh group attended the 12-month follow-up. There was no significant difference at 12 months in objective success (POP-Q stage 0 or 1) between the mesh and no mesh groups (mesh: 81.0% ͓51/63͔ vs. no mesh: 65.6% ͓40/61͔; P ϭ 0.07). Although patients in both groups expressed a high level of satisfaction with the surgery and improved symptoms and parameters of quality of life compared to baseline, there was no statistically significant difference in these outcomes between the 2 groups (P ϭ ns). Postoperative complications in the mesh group included four cases (5.6%) of vaginal mesh exposure. At 12 months, de novo dyspareunia was reported in 27.8% (5/18) of the sexually active women without preoperative dyspareunia in the mesh group and in 41.7% (5/12) of those in the no mesh group. These differences were not significant (P ϭ 0.46).These findings show that anterior and posterior vaginal repair with mesh augmentation at 12 months after surgery does not result in significantly less recurrent prolapse than traditional colporrhaphy. GYNECOLOGY Volume 64, Number 12 OBSTETRICAL AND GYNECOLOGICAL SURVEY ABSTRACTThe presence of myomas can impair fertility. To preserve fertility in women with myomas wanting to become pregnant, myomectomy can be performed with laparotomy, laparoscopy, or hysteroscopy and achieve pregnancy rates of up to 70%. Advantages of laparoscopic techniques compared with laparotomy include shorter hospital stay, more rapid recovery, and less intra-abdominal adhesions. In addition, the overall complication rate is lower. Precise dissection and suturing, however, is especially difficult with traditional laparoscopy for myomas with a deep intramural and/or another unfavorable localization that have a probable impact on fec...