Laparoscopic treatment of genitourinary fistulae

We present the laparoscopic management of genitourinary fistulae, mainly five types of fistulae, vesicovaginal, ureterovaginal, vesicouterine, rectourethral and rectovesical fistula. Vesicovaginal fistula (VVF) is mostly secondary to urogynecologic procedures in developed countries, abdominal hysterectomy being the main cause of this condition; they represent 84.9% of the genitourinary fistulae (1).Management has been described for this type of fistula, where low success rate (7-12%) has been reported. Ureterovaginal fistulas may occur following pelvic surgery, particularly gynecological procedures, or as a result of vaginal foreign bodies or stone fragments after shock wave lithotripsy, patients typically present with global and persistent urine leakage through the vagina, this causes patient discomfort, distress, and typically protection is used to stay dry, the initial management is often conservative but typically fails. Vesicouterine fistula is a rare condition that only occurs in 1 to 4% of genitourinary fistulas, the primary cause is low segment cesareansection, and clinically presents in three different forms, which will be described. Treatment of this type of fistulae has been conservative,with hormone therapy and surgery, depending on the presenting symptoms. Recto-urinary (rectovesical and rectourethral) fistulae (RUF) are uncommon and can be difficult to manage clinically. Although they may develop in patients with inflammatory bowel disease and perirectal abscesses, rectourethral fistula frequently result as an iatrogenic complication of extirpative or ablative prostate procedures. Rectovesical fistula usually develops following radical prostatectomy, and occurs along the vesicourethral anastomotic line or along the suture line of a posterior "racquet-handle" closure of the bladder. Conservative management consisting of urinary diversion, broad-spectrum antibiotics and parenteral nutrition is often initially attempted but these measures often fail. Timing of repair is often individualized mainly according to the etiology, delay of diagnosis, size of fistula, the first or subsequent repairs, and the general condition of the patient. Different surgical techniques for the management of RUF have been reported. Encouraged by our experience in minimally invasive surgery we present the laparoscopic approach.