HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Neill, C. Articles by Ramsay, I. N Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Neill, C. Articles by Ramsay, I. N

Sexual function and vaginal surgery

^1. West of Scotland Deanery, 3rd Floor, 2 Central Quay, 89 Hyde Park Street, Glasgow G3 8BW, UK
^2. Section of Clinical Sciences, Division of Applied Health Sciences, School of Medicine and Dentistry, 3rd Floor Polwarth Building, Foresterhill, University of Aberdeen AB 25 2ZD, UK
^3. Stirling Royal Infirmary, Livilands Gate, Stirling FK8 2AU, UK Email: ian.ramsay{at}nhs.net (corresponding author)

Key content:

• Female sexual function is increasingly used as an outcome measure of the success of vaginal surgery.
  
• Most women without coital incontinence will have no change in sexual function following anti-incontinence surgery, although overall there may be a slight improvement.
  
• If coital incontinence is cured by surgery, the woman is very likely to report an improvement in sexual function.
  
• The majority of studies of pelvic organ prolapse repair show no change in subsequent sexual function.
  
• Worsening of sexual function is most likely to follow posterior repair.
  

Learning objectives:

• To understand how female sexual function can be assessed.
  
• To understand how surgery for incontinence and/or prolapse is likely to affect sexual function.
  
• To be willing and better able to discuss sexual function with women before surgery.
  

Ethical issue:

• As surgery can adversely affect sexual function, is it unethical to fail to discuss this sensitive area preoperatively?
  

Please cite this article as: Neill C, Abdel-Fattah M, Ramsay IN. Sexual function and vaginal surgery. The Obstetrician & Gynaecologist 2009;11:193–198.

Keywords colporrhaphy / intravaginal sling / sexual dysfunction / vaginal hysterectomy