Risk factors for postoperative pain after cystocele repair with mesh

Prolapse is a common condition seen in women and its therapeutical management consists first and foremost of surgery. Postoperative pain is one of the most common side effects seen after surgery. The objective of this study was to identify risk factors for postoperative pain after cystocele repair with mesh.

This is a secondary analysis of the multicenter randomized trial PROSPERE, which compared cystocele repair with mesh according to the vaginal or laparoscopic approach. The presence of postoperative pain was assessed by a pain-specific self-reported questionnaire (Questionnaire de Baudelocque). The statistical analysis is based on the Wilcoxon, Chi-squared, and Fisher's tests.

The prevalence of postoperative pain (pain persisting more than 6 months) was 39% (80 out of 205, 95% CI 32.4-46.1), with 6.3% (13 out of 205) of chronic pain reports. Preoperative pain was the only statistically significant risk factor OR = 2.32 (p = 0,007; 95% CI 1.24-4.36).

Surgeons must be careful with preoperative painful prolapse and should inform their patient of the risk of developing postoperative chronic pain.