Genital prolapse in adult women with classical bladder exstrophy

Long term outcomes in classic bladder exstrophy - The adult picture

With continued improvements in medical care and surgical reconstruction, more patients with classic bladder exstrophy (CBE) are living into adulthood, than ever before. With improved survival, a greater emphasis on adult issues and improving quality of life (QOL) for these individuals is of increasing importance. This review aims to summarize data on long-term considerations for the adult with exstrophy and to highlight areas of future research and collaboration. Key conclusions are that continence or dryness are achievable alongside the ability to enjoy sexual relationships and a good quality of life.

Fertility and sexuality issues in congenital lifelong urology patients: female aspects

PURPOSE

With advances in treatment modalities and medical knowledge, girls with congenital urologic disorders are living well into adulthood. Although, sexual and reproductive function in this population is still poorly understood. The aim is to review existing literature about fertility and sexuality in women with congenital genitourinary disorders, including spina bifida (SB), bladder exstrophy-epispadias complex (BEEC) and congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH).

METHODS

This review represents the joint SIU-ICUD (Société Internationale d'Urologie-International Consultation on Urological Disease) consultation on congenital lifelong urology. The results of this analysis were first presented at a joint consultation of the SIU and ICUD at the 2018 SIU annual conference in Seoul, South Korea. Appropriate experts were asked to write specific sections regarding sexuality and reproductive function in female patients with these complex congenital urogenital disorders. Each expert performed their own literature review which was reviewed by GDW, AFS, Hadley M. Wood and Dan Wood. Expert opinion was obtained where data are non-existent.

RESULTS

Only about half of the individuals with SB express a satisfactory sex life. In women with BEEC, cosmetic concerns surrounding genital appearance and function may increase psychological distress, including severe depression, suicide and sexual dysfunction. Professional health care is key for improving self-esteem and to interact in the biopsychosocial model of the quality of life. Patients with SB and BEEC should be informed about all the potential risks and difficulties before, during and after pregnancy. Screening for pelvic organ prolapse is important as it can exacerbate their already existing sexual dysfunction, difficulties achieving pregnancy and challenges with clean intermittent catheterization.

CONCLUSIONS

Lifelong multidisciplinary follow-up and management are complex but necessary. As these patients grow into their adolescence, they may have the desire to become involved in personal relationships and have sexual interactions. Their healthcare team needs to be increasingly sensitive to these aspects.

Let’s talk about sex: A review of expectations, body image and sexual function in exstrophy

Background:

The bladder exstrophy epispadias complex (BEEC) is a rare disorder characterised by a number of genito-urinary abnormalities. The condition and subsequent treatment may result in lasting effects on continence, renal function and fertility. There are equally important psychosocial and psychosexual effects as part of overall long-term quality of life. The literature consists largely of small studies with variable methodology; this study aims to consolidate these data.

Methods:

This study reviews the available literature sourced from the Medline database using the keywords listed below.

Results:

Patients appear to be high achievers with good overall health-related quality of life. Most form close personal friendships although express anxiety related to revelation of their condition. Data suggest the majority of patients are able to engage in and be satisfied with sexual intercourse. Fertility may be adversely affected, but this can usually be overcome with assisted reproductive techniques and specialist input during pregnancy and delivery.

Conclusions:

Psychosocial and psychosexual outcomes in patients with BEEC may be excellent. Therefore careful transition and psychological support combined with long-term follow-up is important to allow these patients to maximise their quality of life.

Level of evidence:

Not applicable.

Lifelong Congenital Urology: The Challenges for Patients and Surgeons

CONTEXT

Patients born with complex congenital genitourinary anomalies (including bladder exstrophy, cloacal exstrophy, epispadias, neurogenic bladder, hypospadias and posterior urethral valves) often require major reconstructive surgery in childhood. These conditions, their treatment and sequelae require lifelong follow-up. This has created the need for adult urologists to provide care as these patients grow into adults.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate current strategies for transition and provide a current position statement with examples of the challenges faced by patients and their health care teams as a result of these conditions and their treatment.

EVIDENCE ACQUISITION

Each of the authors was asked to provide a 500-word synthesis, based on current literature; to highlight the challenges faced in an area of their expertise.

EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS

The authors assembled in March 2018 to form a consensus based on the data gathered. The aforementioned sections were reviewed and following the consensus discussion the paper was formulated and reviewed.

CONCLUSIONS

Lifelong care of congenital problems is challenging and essential for many but not all. Expertise is needed to provide the best care for patients and make the best use of resources. Specialist centres appear to be the most effective and safe model. In the long term it would be ideal to establish an evidence base focused on the common long-term problems with these conditions to ensure excellent care with appropriate expertise.

PATIENT SUMMARY

Patients born with complex congenital anomalies of the genitourinary system require specialist care in childhood. Many will need lifelong care to manage their condition and the treatment of it. There is growing interest in this area of medicine and this consensus statement addresses the need for lifelong care in this group. The aim is to ensure that all patients that need care at any age are able to find what they need.

Patient-Reported Impact of Pelvic Organ Prolapse on Continence and Sexual Function in Women With Exstrophy-Epispadias Complex

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to characterize long-term urogynecologic issues of women with a history of bladder exstrophy and pelvic organ prolapse (POP) and to assess the impact of POP repair on continence and sexual function.

DESIGN

Patient demographics and surgical history related to exstrophy and POP were collected through chart review. Patient perceptions regarding sexual function, urinary continence, and quality of life were assessed through Web-based administration of validated questionnaires: International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Urinary Incontinence Short Form and POP-Urinary Incontinence Sexual Questionnaire.

SETTING

Maryland, United States.

PARTICIPANTS

Review of a single-institution exstrophy-epispadias complex database resulted in 25 adult female patients with a history of POP treated at the authors' institution. Eleven patients participated and were included in the analysis.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Urinary continence and sexual function.

RESULTS

All participants underwent surgical repair for prolapse, with 7 (63.6%) experiencing unsuccessful initial repair and subsequent recurrence. Median total number of POP repairs was 2.5 (1-4). After correction of POP, patients reported a median improvement in International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Urinary Incontinence Short Form scores of 11 (21 to -1) of 21 and in POP-Urinary Incontinence Sexual Questionnaire scores of 9.5 (6.5-33.0) of 48.0. With regard to urinary continence, 6 (54.5%) patients presently reported no incontinence, 3 (27.3%) reported mild incontinence, and 2 (18.2%) reported continuous incontinence.

CONCLUSIONS

Pelvic organ prolapse poses significant reductions in quality of life for women born with exstrophy, with effects on urinary continence and sexual function. Identification and correction of prolapse seems to result in notable improvements in the lives of these patients.

Contemporary issues relating to transitional care in bladder exstrophy

N/A

Pelvic Organ Prolapse and Pregnancy in the Female Bladder Exstrophy Patient

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Classic bladder exstrophy (BE) remains one of the most demanding reconstructive challenges encountered in urology. In female BE patients, the long-term sequela of both primary and revision genitoplasty, as well as intrinsic pelvic floor deficits, predispose adult women to significant issues with sexual function, pelvic organ prolapse (POP), and complexities with reproductive health.

RECENT FINDINGS

Contemporary data suggest 30-50% of women with BE develop prolapse at a mean age of 16 years. Most women will require revision genitoplasty for successful sexual function, although in some series over 40% report dyspareunia. Current management for pregnancy includes elective cesarean section with involvement of high-risk obstetrics and urologic surgery. This review encapsulates contemporary concepts of etiology, prevalence, and management of POP and pregnancy in the adult female BE patient.

Vaginal Delivery After Dührssen Incisions in a Patient With Bladder Exstrophy and Uterine Prolapse

BACKGROUND

Bladder exstrophy is a rare congenital anomaly affecting the lower abdominal wall, pelvis, and genitourinary structures. Pregnant women with bladder exstrophy present a unique challenge to the obstetrician.

CASE

The patient is a 35-year old pregnant woman with bladder exstrophy, an extensive surgical history, and uterine prolapse with an abnormal, rubbery consistency to her cervix. Prenatally, she was counseled on the potential use of Dührssen incisions to facilitate vaginal delivery. Labor was induced at 36 4/7 weeks of gestation after her pregnancy was complicated by recurrent pyelonephritis. Vaginal delivery was achieved 8 minutes after the creation of Dührssen incisions.

CONCLUSION

The care of pregnant women with bladder exstrophy requires multidisciplinary management and careful delivery planning. Successful vaginal delivery can be attained in these patients.

The transition of young adults with lifelong urological needs from pediatric to adult services: An international children's continence society position statement

INTRODUCTION

Children with urinary tract disorders managed by teams, or individual pediatricians, urologists, nephrologists, gastroenterologists, neurologists, psychologists, and nurses at some point move from child-centered to adult-centered health systems. The actual physical change is referred to as the transfer whilst the process preceding this move constitutes transition of care. Our aims are twofold: to identify management and health-service problems related to children with congenital or acquired urological conditions who advance into adulthood and the clinical implications this has for long-term health and specialist care; and, to understand the issues facing both pediatric and adult-care clinicians and to develop a systems-approach model that meets the needs of young adults, their families and the clinicians working within adult services.

METHODS

Information was gleaned from presentations at an International Children's Continence Society meeting with collaboration from the International Continence Society, that discussed problems of transfer and transitioning such children. Several specialists attending this conference finalized this document identifying issues and highlighting ways to ease this transition and transfer of care for both patients and practitioners.

RESULTS

The consensus was, urological patients with congenital or other lifelong care needs, are now entering adulthood in larger numbers than previously, necessitating new planning processes for tailored transfer of management. Adult teams must become familiar with new clinical problems in multiple organ systems and anticipate issues provoked by adolescence and physical growth. During this period of transitional care the clinician or team assists young patients to build attitudes, skills and understanding of processes needed to maximize function of their urinary tract-thus taking responsibility for their own healthcare needs. Preparation must also address, negotiating adult health care systems, psychosocial, educational or vocational issues, and mental wellbeing.

CONCLUSIONS

Transitioning and transfer of children with major congenital anomalies to clinicians potentially unfamiliar with their conditions requires improved education both for receiving doctors and children's families. Early initiation of the transition process should allow the transference to take place at appropriate times based on the child's development, and environmental and financial factors. Neurourol. Urodynam. 36:811-819, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The Manchester-Fothergill and the Elevate Posterior technique for the correction of a cervical elongation and large enterocele in a patient with bladder exstrophy and multiple surgeries

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS

A 60-year-old woman presented with congenital bladder exstrophy, urinary incontinence since birth, and pelvic organ prolapse since the menopause at the age of 46 years.

METHODS

The patient (gravida 2, para 2 by cesarean sections and tubal ligation) described an extensive past surgical history that included epispadias and neourethral procedures, anti-reflux surgery using the Lich-Grégoir technique, bilateral ureterosigmoidostomy achieving continence, uterine fixation after the Doléris operation, and neovaginal reconstruction. The physical examination revealed a fourth-degree enterocele with cervical elongation (POP-Q: Aa-2, Ba-2, C + 3, D + 4, gh:5, pb:2.5, Tvl:6, Ap + 3, Bp +6). Gynecological ultrasound and uro-CT were performed to ensure that the ureterosigmoidostomy had been successful, and CT-based 3D bone reconstructions were obtained to calculate the distance between the pubic rami and the ischial spines. Based on a literature review of the management options for these patients and the specific characteristics of our patient, a decision was made to perform trachelectomy (the Manchester technique with Fothergill stitches) and a polypropylene mesh placement with sacrospinous ligament anchor (Elevate Posterior® PC, AMS).

RESULTS

Six months after the surgery, we observed good anatomical and functional results with significant improvement in the patient's quality-of-life scale score.

CONCLUSION

We believed that the vaginal approach was minimally invasive with a low risk of morbidity in our patient, who had a very altered anatomy, but produced a satisfactory functional result.

Comparison of musculoskeletal anatomic relationships, determined by magnetic resonance imaging, in postpubertal female patients with and without classic bladder exstrophy

WHAT'S KNOWN ON THE SUBJECT? AND WHAT DOES THE STUDY ADD?: Several studies in the paediatric literature have characterized the pelvic musculoskeletal anatomy of infants and children with bladder exstrophy using MRI and three-dimensional CT. The pelvic floor anatomy of female patients with bladder exstrophy who have undergone somatic growth and puberty is less well described. This study uses MRI to characterize comprehensively the pelvic anatomy of postpubertal females with classic bladder exstrophy by measuring 15 pelvic floor variables previously described in younger children with bladder exstrophy.

OBJECTIVE

To characterize pelvic musculoskeletal anatomy in postpubertal females with classic bladder exstrophy, and to compare this with females without bladder exstrophy.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

The authors reviewed the medical records of all females in our institutional review board-approved bladder exstrophy database of 1078 patients and identified those with classic bladder exstrophy who underwent pelvic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) after the age of 12 years. Indications for MRI included haematuria, adnexal lesion, perineal fistula, non-pelvic cancer staging, abdominal wall hernia and vaginal stenosis. Age- and race-matched female patients without exstrophy who underwent MRI evaluation for similar indications were included for comparison. The MRI protocol included axial, sagittal and coronal T1- and/or T2-weighted imaging.

RESULTS

The study included 30 patients with a median (range) age of 22.5 (12-55) years at time of MRI. Ten patients had bladder exstrophy while 20 control patients did not. A smaller percentage of levator ani was located in the anterior compartment of the pelvis in patients with bladder exstrophy compared with controls. The iliac wing angle, puborectalis angle, ileococcygeous angle, levator ani width, symphyseal diastasis, erectile body diastasis, posterior bladder neck distance and posterior anal distance was greater in patients with bladder exstrophy than in those without. The ischial angle and obturator internus angle were narrower in patients with bladder exstrophy than in those without, and there was no significant difference between levator ani surface area, sacral anal angle, sacral bladder neck angle and bladder neck erectile body distance between the two patient groups.

CONCLUSIONS

In postpubertal females with bladder exstrophy, significant deviations from normal pelvimetry exist, including posterior location of the majority of the levator ani muscle, a wider ileococcygeous angle and a wider symphyseal diastasis. These differences are similar to those described in previous comparisons of younger children with bladder exstrophy and control children.