ABSTRACT
To screen the women suffering from vesico-vaginal fistulae for depression prior to surgery and different potential precipitating factors that may be involved. Descriptive cross-sectional study conducted on 22 women diagnosed with vesico-vaginal fistula admitted. 15 April 2014 to 15 October 2014. Welfare ward of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Unit at Isra University Hospital Hyderabad, Sindh-Pakistan, waiting for surgery were included in the study. Women with other causes of urinary incontinence, any co-morbidity and pregnant women were excluded. All data collected on a preformed proforma including the demographic data, profile of fistula and attitude of the husbands, family and neighbors towards them and Hamilton rating scale for depression [HAM-D] was used for screening the patients for depression, after the verbal consent of individuals and was analyzed on SPSS version 16.0. The mean age of 22 study participants was 36.36[ +/- 9.204] years ranging from 22-55.Majority 81.8% patients were suffering from different severity of depression. Many patients wished they were dead, felt life is not worth living, had suicidal ideas, and even one attempted to commit suicide. Majority of patient's husbands and family were sympathetic and encouraging but many were maltreated by their neighbors [p=0.04]. These patients are living with more than just a physical defect which needs to be considered as part of their treatment