Urinary retention is rare after colpocleisis and concomitant midurethral sling: a 10-year experience

The optimal method of managing stress urinary incontinence (SUI) in women undergoing colpocleisis remains unclear, especially in a setting of urinary retention. We aim to compare postoperative retention after colpocleisis with or without concomitant midurethral sling (MUS).

A retrospective chart review of all women who underwent colpocleisis with or without MUS from October 2007 to October 2017 was performed. Women with preoperative and 2-week postoperative post-void residual volume (PVR) measurements were included. Urinary retention was defined as PVR of ≥100 ml. Analysis included t tests/Wilcoxon rank, Chi-squared/Fisher's exact, and multivariate linear regression models.

A total of 231 women with a mean age of 77.7 years (± 6.0 years SD) met the inclusion criteria. One hundred and thirty-eight women underwent colpocleisis alone, whereas 93 women had colpocleisis with MUS. Preoperative retention rates were high (44.9% vs 34.4%, for colpocleisis alone versus with MUS, p = 0.114). Postoperative retention rates were lower and similar between the groups (10.1% vs 11.8%, for colpocleisis alone vs with MUS, p = 0.69). Linear regression models showed the adjusted odds ratio for postoperative urinary retention in patients with concomitant MUS was 1.68 (95% confidence interval: 0.64-4.41) compared with patients with colpocleisis alone and this did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.292). Fortunately, after colpocleisis, women had high rates of resolution of retention, regardless of MUS (80.3% vs 90.6% for colpocleisis alone vs with MUS; p = 0.20). Few women required reoperation for retention (3.1%).

Placement of an MUS at the time of colpocleisis is a safe and effective therapy. This appears to be unaffected by preoperative urinary retention status.