Multidisciplinary Management of Cutaneous Gluteus Vaginal Fistula After Sacrospinous Ligament Fixation.

Introduction: Cutaneous gluteal vaginal fistula is a rare but significant postoperative complication which may present years after sacrospinous ligament fixation (SSLF) surgery There is limited data on the management of cutaneous vaginal fistula following SSLF. Case description: This case report describes a 77-year-old who presents twenty years after SSLF with cutaneous gluteal vaginal abscess and fistula. She underwent successful management with CT-guided percutaneous drainage of gluteal abscess and placement of guiding cutaneous vaginal catheter, laparoscopic pelvic wall dissection and evaluation, and transvaginal localization and removal of the infected permanent suture. Discussion: Multi-disciplinary approach should be considered in the treatment of chronic fistula status post SSLF, including interventional radiology, urogynecology, and minimally invasive gynecologic surgery.

Innervation of the levator ani muscles: description of the nerve branches to the pubococcygeus, iliococcygeus, and puborectalis muscles.

We described the innervation of the levator ani muscles (LAM) in human female cadavers. Detailed pelvic dissections of the pubococcygeus (PCM), iliococcygeus (ICM), and puborectalis muscles (PRM) were performed on 17 formaldehyde-fixed cadavers. The pudendal nerve and the sacral nerves entering the pelvis were traced thoroughly, and nerve branches innervating the LAM were documented. Histological analysis of nerve branches entering the LAM confirmed myelinated nerve tissue. LAM were innervated by the pudendal nerve branches, perineal nerve, and inferior rectal nerve (IRN) in 15 (88.2%) and 6 (35.3%) cadavers, respectively, and by the direct sacral nerves S3 and/or S4 in 12 cadavers (70.6%). A variant IRN, independent of the pudendal nerve, was found to innervate the LAM in seven (41.2%) cadavers. The PCM and the PRM were both primarily innervated by the pudendal nerve branches in 13 cadavers (76.5%) each. The ICM was primarily innervated by the direct sacral nerves S3 and/or S4 in 11 cadavers (64.7%).

Anatomic variations of the pelvic floor nerves adjacent to the sacrospinous ligament: a female cadaver study.

Our objective was to document variations in the topography of pelvic floor nerves (PFN) and describe a nerve-free zone adjacent to the sacrospinous ligament (SSL). Pelvic floor dissections were performed on 15 female cadavers. The course of the PFN was described in relation to the ischial spine (IS) and the SSL. The pudendal nerve (PN) passed medial to the IS and posterior to the SSL at a mean distance of 0.6 cm (SD = +/-0.4) in 80% of cadavers. In 40% of cadavers, an inferior rectal nerve (IRN) variant pierced the SSL at a distance of 1.9 cm (SD = +/-0.7) medial to the IS. The levator ani nerve (LAN), coursed over the superior surface of the SSL-coccygeus muscle complex at a mean distance of 2.5 cm (SD = +/-0.7) medial to the IS. Anatomic variations were found which challenge the classic description of PFN. A nerve-free zone is situated in the medial third of the SSL.