Improvement in the quality of life in women with stress urinary incontinence after surgery for pelvic organ prolapse

Abstract

Introduction. Pelvic organ prolapse is commonly associated with symptomatic stress urinary incontinence, in up to 50% of patients. The aim of our research was to examine the quality of life of women with urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse after conventional surgical treatment. Material and Methods. The research included 50 patients with stress urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse that underwent vaginal hysterectomy with anterior and posterior colporrhaphy. The pelvic organ prolapse-quantification system was used to determine the degree of genital prolapse. All patients completed a questionnaire to determine the "stress and urge" score preoperatively, as well as the Urinary Distress Inventory-6 and Urinary Impact Questionnaire-7 during the follow-up examination, a year after the surgery. Results. One year after surgery, 20 patients (40%) presented with a recurrence of cystocele. The average value of the Urinary Distress Inventory-6 questionnaire a year after surgery was 29.0 ± 10.8, while the average value of the Urinary Impact Questionnaire-7 questionnaire was 3.7 ± 16.3. After the surgery, 6 patients (12%) had persistent stress urinary incontinence and 4 patients (8%) had urge urinary incontinence. Among patients with persistent stress urinary incontinence, two patients reported pronounced symptoms of stress urinary incontinence and reoperation was performed. Conclusion. The classical surgical treatment of pelvic organ prolapse with anterior and posterior colporrhaphy leads to improvement in the quality of life of patients with pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence. If the symptoms of stress urinary incontinence persist after classical surgical treatment, other anti-incontinence surgical modalities should be considered.