A review of clinical pattern and outcome of vesicovaginal fistula.

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.