Lower urinary tract and bowel dysfunction after incontinence and prolapse interventions

The incidence of anti-incontinence procedures and surgery for prolapse repairs has increased significantly over the past decade. As more clinicians have embarked on performing these surgeries using new techniques and variations on traditional repairs, complications are starting to be recognized. We review the literature, focusing on postoperative lower urinary tract and bowel dysfunction following surgery for incontinence and pelvic prolapse. We performed a comprehensive review of the literature on interventions for urinary incontinence and pelvic prolapse using MEDLINE and resources cited in those peer-reviewed papers. Postoperative voiding dysfunction including symptomatic bladder outlet obstruction, de novo urgency and urge incontinence, and recurrent stress urinary incontinence appear to be the most common voiding issues after anti-incontinence surgery, with rates varying based on the type of sling used. Bowel dysfunction following prolapse surgery can occur after rectocele repair and sacrocolpopexy or other apical repair and may vary based on the surgical technique and graft reinforcement used. Success rates for incontinence and prolapse repairs remain stable. With the introduction of new techniques, it is important to consider potential postoperative bladder and bowel effects so that clinicians may counsel their patients appropriately prior to intervention.