Can sex survive pelvic floor surgery?

Area of Science:

• Urology
• Gynecology
• Sexual Health

Background:

• Sexual function is often impaired in women with pelvic organ prolapse (POP) and stress urinary incontinence (SUI).
• Limited data exists on sexual function outcomes after surgical interventions for these conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the impact of pelvic reconstructive surgery on female sexual function.
• To evaluate the effect of concurrent continence procedures on sexual function outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Prospective study involving 52 women with POP or SUI.
• Assessment using Pelvic Organ Prolapse Quantification (POP-Q), videocystourethrography, Golombok Rust Inventory of Sexual Satisfaction (GRISS), King's Health Questionnaire (KHQ), and Prolapse Quality of Life (P-QoL) questionnaire.
• Follow-up over 2 years with repeated objective and subjective assessments.

Main Results:

• Sexual function, measured by GRISS scores and sexual domains of KHQ and P-QoL, showed significant improvement post-surgery.
• Improved pelvic floor support, indicated by POP-Q scores, was strongly associated with enhanced GRISS scores.

Conclusions:

• Surgical correction of POP and SUI can lead to substantial improvements in sexual function.
• These results are valuable for pre-operative counseling regarding potential sexual function recovery after surgery.