A review of clinical pattern and outcome of vesicovaginal fistula

Abstract

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the incidence, sociodemographic parameters, and outcome of surgical repairs of obstetric fistula in our center.

Methods: Case files of patients managed for genital tract fistula over a 10-year period (January 1, 1997 to December 31, 2006) were retrieved and analyzed.

Results: Fifty-five patients with of genital tract fistula were managed in the period under review, constituting 1.17% of total gynecological admissions. Obstetric fistula accounted for 51 (93%) of genital fistula, and 92.7% of cases were caused by prolonged obstructed labor. The most common form of fistula was the midvaginal type, and 89% of affected women were married with primiparous women mostly affected (43.6%). Menstrual function was lost in 51% of the patients, while obstetric palsy complicated 18.2% of the cases. Half of the women (51%) were abandoned by their spouses, and surgical repair was successful in only 32% of the cases.

Conclusion: Obstetric fistula continues to show the deficiency in women's general health status occasioned by poor childbirth attendance in developing countries. Affected women suffer double jeopardy as a result of dearth of appropriate experts in fistula repair.