Surgical procedures for the treatment of urge incontinence.

PURPOSE: Cure of urge incontinence refractory to conservative management may require the application of several surgical techniques. The Ingelman-Sundberg bladder denervation procedure, detrusor myectomy, and augmentation cystoplasty are among the surgical possibilities aimed at dealing with severe urgency and uninhibited detrusor contractions. METHODS AND MATERIALS: A review of the literature was performed to evaluate surgical treatments for refractory urgency and urge incontinence with a focus on the Ingelman-Sundberg bladder denervation procedure, detrusor myectomy, and augmentation cystoplasty. RESULTS: The Ingelman-Sundberg bladder denervation has a complete response rate of 54% at a mean of 44.1 months. Among a heterogeneous group of patients, the detrusor myectomy resulted in improvement of compliance and/or resolution of uninhibited detrusor contraction in 63%. The augmentation cystoplasty has the highest overall rate of success but with a much higher likelihood of early and late postoperative complications. CONCLUSIONS: Surgical procedures for urge incontinence have a reasonable success rate with respect to cure of symptoms and urodynamic improvement when present. The possibility of cure or improvement appears to vary directly with the invasiveness of the procedure. However, a logical progression from least to most invasive should be undertaken unless very poor compliance and upper tract abnormalities dictate a more aggressive initial course of action.

Advantages of rectus fascial slings for urinary incontinence in children with neuropathic bladders.

PURPOSE: Many surgical procedures to improve outlet resistance in children with neuropathic bladders are obstructive and increase the detrusor leak point pressure. In contrast, fascial slings are designed to achieve continence by increasing the Valsalva or stress leak point pressure without altering the detrusor leak point pressure. We evaluate the effectiveness of fascial slings in achieving continence in pediatric patients with neuropathic bladder. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From October 1994 until February 1999, 10 females and 8 males with neuropathic bladder secondary to myelodysplasia or traumatic spinal cord injury underwent fascial sling procedures. Mean patient age was 14 years (range 8 to 18) and all were incontinent despite aggressive medical management. Urodynamic evaluation was performed preoperatively and postoperatively. Specific urodynamic measurements included detrusor leak point pressure, stress leak point pressure and detrusor compliance. Compliance was only compared in the 12 nonaugmented cases. RESULTS: With a mean followup of 21.2 months (range 6 to 57), preoperative and postoperative urodynamics revealed little change in mean detrusor leak point pressure (23.2 versus 23.22 cm. H2O) but a substantial increase in mean stress leak point pressure (41.6 versus 64.5 cm. H2O). Mean compliance was unchanged in the nonaugmented group (22.00 versus 26.78 ml/cm. H2O). Four patients (22.22%) remained wet after surgery, of whom 2 were successfully treated with a repeat sling procedure and 1 with collagen injection for an overall continence rate of 94.44%. CONCLUSIONS: Fascial slings can be effectively used in pediatric patients for neuropathic incontinence. Furthermore, stress urinary incontinence is corrected by increasing the Valsalva or stress leak point pressure with preservation of the detrusor leak point pressure. Preservation of detrusor leak point pressure is particularly advantageous because other forms of bladder outlet procedures achieve continence at the expense of increasing detrusor pressures, thus placing the upper tracts at risk for damage.

Urinary tract erosions after synthetic pubovaginal slings: diagnosis and management strategy.

OBJECTIVES: To review our experience with the diagnosis and management of genitourinary tract erosions after pubovaginal sling placement. METHODS: Clinic and operative records from the urology and gynecology services at two university hospitals were reviewed, and 14 patients were identified who underwent surgical treatment for a urogenital tract erosion after pubovaginal sling placement. The presenting symptoms, physical findings, diagnostic procedures, surgical treatments, and outcomes were reviewed. RESULTS: Six vaginal erosions, six urethral and vaginal erosions, and two bladder erosions occurred. All were associated with synthetic sling or suture materials. Common symptoms included vaginal and urethral pain, irritative voiding symptoms, vaginal discharge and/or bleeding, and recurrent urinary tract infections. All vaginal and urethral erosions were detected by physical examination and cystoscopy. Symptoms resolved after removal of the eroded sling component. Of the 12 patients with vaginal or urethral erosions, 7 developed recurrent postoperative stress incontinence. CONCLUSIONS: Persistent painful or irritative symptoms after pubovaginal sling placement may be due to urogenital tract erosion, especially if synthetic materials were used. Appropriate evaluation and treatment will result in dramatic symptomatic improvement, although recurrent stress incontinence may occur.

Salvage prostatectomy with continent catheterizable urinary reconstruction: a novel approach to recurrent prostate cancer after radiation therapy.

PURPOSE: Salvage prostatectomy after full dose radiation therapy is associated with a high risk of urinary incontinence. We evaluated the complications of salvage prostatectomy with continent catheterizable reconstruction and its impact on urinary incontinence. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between August 1995 and February 1999, 13 patients with biopsy proved, locally recurrent prostate cancer after radiation therapy underwent salvage prostatectomy with complete bladder neck closure and reconstruction with an appendicovesicostomy to the native bladder in 9 and ileovesicostomy in 4. RESULTS: There were no intraoperative complications. Four patients had serious complications necessitating reoperation, including a vesicourethral fistula requiring delayed cystectomy, wound dehiscence with disruption of the appendicovesical anastomosis, leakage from the small bowel anastomosis that resulted in sepsis and death, and stomal stenosis requiring delayed stomal revision in 1 each. Of 12 patients 2 (17%) used pads for incontinence, while 10 were dry during the day and night with a catheterization interval of 2 to 6 hours. CONCLUSIONS: Salvage prostatectomy with continent catheterizable reconstruction is a technically challenging operation with the potential for serious complications. The postoperative continence rate is excellent and appears superior to those in the literature for salvage prostatectomy and vesicourethral anastomosis.

Bladder endometriosis: conservative management.

PURPOSE: We evaluate the characteristics of women with bladder endometriosis successfully treated with hormonal therapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The records of 14 patients with a mean age of 48.7 years (range 26 to 71) diagnosed with bladder endometriosis on cystoscopic evaluation were reviewed for presenting complaints, findings and response to therapy. RESULTS: The most frequent presenting complaints were urgency (78%), frequency (71%), suprapubic pain (43%), urge incontinence (21%) and dyspareunia (21%). Of the patients 86% did not have a history of recurrent urinary tract infections, 6 (42%) had a history of endometriosis, including 3 who were previously treated with hysterectomy/oophorectomy and 8 (57%) were on some form of therapy for estrogen deficiency. In all patients endometrial implants were identified on cystoscopic examination. In 2 patients the endometrioma correlated to lesions on the serosal surface of the bladder during laparoscopic evaluation. Of the patients 13 were treated either with low dose oral contraceptives, decrease or elimination of the estrogen component of the present regimen or addition of progesterone to therapy, and 12 (92%) reported sustained improvement of symptoms at a mean of 18.6 months (range 8 to 24). CONCLUSIONS: In more than 70% of cases the presenting symptoms of bladder endometriosis are identical to those of interstitial cystitis. Therefore, endometriosis should always be considered in the patient referred for frequency, urgency and pain with no documented infection. Hormonal therapy is reasonable and effective management for bladder endometriosis. This option preserves fertility, making it especially attractive to younger women.

Pubovaginal sling: 4-YEAR outcome analysis and quality of life assessment.

PURPOSE: Stress urinary incontinence is a common disease with a devastating impact on patient quality of life. Needle suspension procedures, which produce disappointing long-term results for type II stress incontinence, are being replaced by pubovaginal slings which previously were reserved solely for the treatment of type III stress incontinence. We report the long-term outcomes of pubovaginal slings for the treatment of types II and III stress urinary incontinence, and assess its quality of life impact. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From January 1993 until December 1996, 247 females 10 to 84 years old (mean age 54.5) with type II (54%) or III (46%) stress urinary incontinence diagnosed by fluoroscopic urodynamics received a pubovaginal sling. Concomitant urge incontinence was present in 109 patients (44%). Quality of life was assessed with the Urogenital Distress Inventory short form. RESULTS: At a mean followup of 51 months (range 22 to 68) the continence rates were 88% overall, 91% for type II and 84% for type III. Preoperative urge incontinence resolved in 81 of 109 patients (74%), while de novo urge incontinence developed in 10 (7%). Intermittent urethral catheterization duration averaged 8.4 days, with 5 women undergoing urethrolysis for a hypersuspended urethra. Secondary procedures were required in 9 patients with type II and 5 with type III incontinence, and included transurethral collagen injections in 6 and repeat pubovaginal slings in 8. There was a 4% complication rate due to pelvic hematoma in 2 cases, incisional hernia in 2, deep venous thrombosis in 1 and pulmonary embolus in 1. Of the 247 patients 235 (95%) completed the quality of life questionnaire with 92% reporting a high degree of satisfaction with low (less than 20 of 100 points) symptom distress scores. CONCLUSIONS: Pubovaginal slings are effective and durable, and significantly improve quality of life in patients with types II and III stress urinary incontinence.

Balloon dilation of posterior urethral stricture secondary to radiation and cryotherapy in a patient with a functional artificial urethral sphincter.

Severe urethral stricture disease as an isolated entity can be a management dilemma. In the patient described here, this problem was associated with prior external-beam radiation and cryosurgical ablation of the prostate, and a functional artificial urethral sphincter (AUS) had been placed. An attempt to relieve partial urinary obstruction while preserving AUS function led to successful balloon dilation proximal to the sphincter cuff.

Presentation, methods of diagnosis and therapy for pelvic recurrence following radical cystectomy for transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder.

PURPOSE: We evaluated the presentation, methods of diagnosis and treatment of pelvic recurrence following radical cystectomy for transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We reviewed the records of 33 patients who underwent radical cystectomy for transitional cell carcinoma between May 1960 and August 1995 at our cancer center and who later had pelvic recurrence. RESULTS: The majority of patients underwent cystectomy for clinically advanced transitional cell carcinoma. Median time from cystectomy to recurrence was 10 months. Of the patients 25 were symptomatic (76%) at the time recurrence was diagnosed. Recurrence was discovered by digital rectal examination in 4 asymptomatic patients (12%) and by routine pelvic imaging in 2. Treatment included chemotherapy, surgery or radiation (alone or in combination). Of the 33 patients 29 died of progressive disease with a median survival of 7 months from the time of recurrence, and 4 remained free of disease at 7, 14, 26 and 95 months after local recurrence. Despite the poor survival rate following treatment 11 of 14 patients had complete resolution of symptoms following chemotherapy. CONCLUSIONS: The prognosis of patients with local recurrence is poor regardless of therapy. These recurrences are often symptomatic but careful post-cystectomy tumor surveillance, including digital rectal examination and pelvic imaging, provides an opportunity to diagnose local recurrences when they may be amenable to therapy. Systemic chemotherapy offers excellent palliation for symptomatic patients.