Magnetic resonance assessment of pelvic anatomy and pelvic floor disorders after childbirth.
To compare pelvic anatomy, using magnetic resonance imaging, between postpartum women with or without pelvic floor disorders. We measured postpartum bony and soft tissue pelvic dimensions in 246 primiparas, 6-12-months postpartum. Anatomy was compared between women with and without urinary or fecal incontinence, or pelvic organ prolapse; P < 0.01 was considered statistically significant. A deeper sacral hollow was significantly associated with fecal incontinence (P = 0.005). Urinary incontinence was marginally associated with a wider intertuberous diameter (P = 0.017) and pelvic arch (P = 0.017). There were no significant differences in pelvimetry measures between women with and without prolapse (e.g., vaginal or cervical descent to or beyond the hymen). We did not detect meaningful differences in soft tissue dimensions for women with and without these pelvic floor disorders. Dimensions of the bony pelvis do not differ substantially between primiparous women with and without postpartum urinary incontinence, fecal incontinence and prolapse.
Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA. Vhanda1@jhmi.edu
Victoria L
VL
Handa
Mark E
ME
Lockhart
Kimberly S
KS
Kenton
Catherine S
CS
Bradley
Julia R
JR
Fielding
Geoffrey W
GW
Cundiff
Caryl G
CG
Salomon
Christiane
C
Hakim
Wen
W
Ye
Holly E
HE
Richter
D000328:Adult; D005242:Fecal Incontinence / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000592:standards*; D036801:Parturition; D010384:Pelvic Bones / Q000473:pathology*; D017773:Pelvic Floor / Q000473:pathology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012307:Risk Factors; D014549:Urinary Incontinence / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology*; D014596:Uterine Prolapse / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology*