Risk factors of postoperative sexual function in patients with urethral diverticulum and their partners: A cohort study of 83 women

Int Braz J Urol. 2019 Nov-Dec;45(6):1216-1226. doi: 10.1590/S1677-5538.IBJU.2018.0824.

Abstract

Introduction and objective: Several studies have focused on the treatment and recurrence of urethral diverticulum (UD). However, few investigations have addressed sexual function in pati-ents with UD. Therefore, we sought to examine sexual function in women affected by UD.

Materials and methods: There were 108 accepted cases involving transvaginal diverticulectomy at our institution. Ultimately, 83 women were included for further analysis, only 61 of these wo-men had sexual partners. We collected data for the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) from the female patients and the Male Sexual Health Questionnaire (MSHQ) from their male partners before and after surgery.

Results: Preoperatively, the UD size affected the female patient's arousal and lubrication (p=0.04), and the UD location affected their satisfaction. However, no significant between-group differences were found in the total FSFI score. For all women, sexual activity improved after surgery (p=0.0087). In addition to improvements in arousal for women with a large UD, improvements in lubrication were affected by the UD size, number and shape, increases in sa-tisfaction scores were impacted by the UD location and shape, and pain relief was linked to the UD number and shape. Analysis of the MSHQ results revealed no between-group differences among the male partners.

Conclusion: Only the UD size and location affected sexual function in women with a small UD. Surgery could improve female sexual function but did not affect the sexual function of the patient's partners.

Keywords: Diverticulum; Female; Male; Urethra.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Diverticulum / physiopathology
  • Diverticulum / surgery*
  • Ejaculation / physiology
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Patient Satisfaction
  • Postoperative Complications / etiology*
  • Postoperative Complications / physiopathology
  • Reference Values
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Risk Factors
  • Sex Factors
  • Sexual Dysfunction, Physiological / etiology*
  • Sexual Dysfunction, Physiological / physiopathology
  • Sexual Partners
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Urethral Diseases / physiopathology
  • Urethral Diseases / surgery*

Grants and funding

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 81370855, 81300627, 81702536, 81770756 and 81200551), This study was supported by the National key research and development program of China (Grant No. SQ2017YFSF090096), the Prostate Cancer Foundation Young Investigator Award 2013, Foundation of Science εtTechnology Department of Sichuan Province (Grant No. 2015SZ0230, 2013SZ0006 and 2013SZ0093), Programs from Science and Technology Department of Sichuan Province (Grant No. 2018JY0089 and 2017HH0063), Young Investigator Award of Sichuan University 2017, and the Scientific Research Project of Health Department of Sichuan Province (No. 120203).