A Survey of Operative Techniques Used by Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgeons Performing Minimally Invasive Sacral Colpopexy

Objective Assess variability of surgical technique for minimally invasive sacral colpopexy (MISC) among Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery (FPMRS). Methods A voluntary anonymous questionnaire was given to the 2018 American Urogynecologic Society (AUGS) annual meeting attendees. Comparisons were made by age, gender, experience (years), practice setting, and U.S. region. Results There were 59 responses from 671 physician conference attendees. Most were male (64.4%), U.S. physicians (94.6%), completed Obstetrics and Gynecology residencies (91.5%), practicing in University settings (66.1%). The mean age was 47.4±8.6 years, practicing>15 years (47.5%). Predominant routes were 53.8% robotic, 42.2% laparoscopic, and 4.0% open. Surgeons used 3-4 ports (both 50.0%), with 0-degree (46.0%) or 0 and 30 degree laparoscopes (36%). For sacral mesh attachment, 83.1% used suture as opposed to tacking devices, most often Gortex (56.3%). Anterior (48.1%) and posterior (50.0%) vaginal attachment used 5-6 sutures. Concomitant procedures included anterior repair (83.4% “not usually”/“not at all”), posterior repair/perineorrhaphy (77.8% “yes, often”/“yes, sometimes”), midurethral sling (42.6% “yes, often”/51.9% “yes, sometimes”), and hysteropexy (86.5% “not usually”/“not at all”). Post void residual (PVR) was assessed after surgery by 89.8%, 75.5% via retrograde fill voiding trial. Most patients were discharged post-operative day 1 (POD1) (47.6% AM, 29.1% PM) or day of surgery (15.2%). Females more commonly performed hysteropexy (p=0.028) with no other significant differences by age, gender, experience, practice setting or region. Conclusion Most FPMRS surgeons perform MISC, equally robotic and laparoscopic. Concomitant posterior wall procedures and midurethral slings are common. Other than more hysteropexies performed by females, no other variables predicted technique variations, suggesting technique homogeneity.