[Long term results after Latzko operation for vesico-vaginal fistula]

The Latzko operation for the closure of a vesico-vaginal fistula is still not well enough known. Urologists have voiced doubts about the functional quality of the late results after this operation. Pouches in the bladder wall which could lead to infection and stone formation are said to occur frequently. Follow-up studies regarding this question are not known. Therefore the patients treated at the University Hospitals Erlangen-Nuernberg and Graz between 1962 and 1972 were subjected to a standardized follow-up protocol. Of 37 women who had the Latzko operation, 24 women returned for a follow-up examination. 19 women had no intermittent urinary tract disease and the follow-up results were normal. In many instances a scar corresponding to the previous fistula could not be detected on cystoscopy. Immediately after the operation, one patient had a recurrent fistula and has not been re-operated. Four women had significant urinary tract findings or had intermittent urinary tract disease. These complications were possibly due to the operation in one case and likely due to the operation in a second case. Our findings suggests that the Latzko operation is the method of choice for the treatment of the typical post-hysterectomy vesico-vaginal fistula.