type-D personality is a stable taxonomy over an 18-month period in post-MI patients. type-D classification was not confounded by variability in mood status and by disease severity. These findings support the importance of including personality variables in cardiovascular research and the need for intervention trials targeting this personality taxonomy in order to enhance secondary prevention in CVD patients.

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QOL in patients with intermittent claudication is reduced in many aspects. Where co-morbidity seems to affect QOL strongly, the effect of walking distance on QOL might be small. These findings may justify a reserved attitude towards invasive, even minimally invasive treatment of these patients.

Patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) often experience diminishing quality of life (QOL) in many domains of their lives. However, factors associated with impaired QOL and perceived stress in these patients are not completely understood. The relative effects of disease status and type D ("distressed") personality (tendencies to experience negative emotions and be socially inhibited) on these patient-based outcomes were examined. It has been argued that type D personality might depend on disease status; therefore, its effect was examined in a combined sample of 150 patients with PAD and 150 healthy controls. The Type D Scale-14, World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment Instrument-100, and Perceived Stress Scale-10 Item assessed type D personality, QOL, and perceived stress, respectively. PAD severity (mild, moderate, or severe) was not associated with QOL or perceived stress. However, patients with PAD reported decreased QOL (p < 0.05) compared with healthy controls. Type D patients reported significantly poorer QOL than non-type D patients across PAD and healthy subgroups (p < 0.0001). After controlling for disease status (presence or absence of PAD), type D personality remained associated with increased risk for impaired QOL (odds ratio [OR] 7.35, 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.39 to 15.96, p < 0.0001) and perceived stress (OR 6.45, 95% CI 3.42 to 12.18, p < 0.0001). Hence, type D personality was associated with impaired QOL beyond the impairment already related to PAD and with increased stress in this high-risk population. In conclusion, type D personality is not merely a function of PAD but seems to represent a different determinant of patient-based outcomes.

The use of synthetic mesh to augment vaginal repair procedures for pelvic organ prolapse has increased in large part because of dissatisfaction with the success rates of traditional colporrhaphy. Its use, however, is controversial. Four randomized controlled studies comparing traditional colporrhaphy with vaginal repair using mesh augmentation had conflicting results. This unblinded, prospective, randomized controlled trial investigated whether mesh augmentation during vaginal repair would reduce the rate of recurrent prolapse at 12 months compared with traditional colporrhaphy. A total of 139 women with stage 2 or more prolapse who required both anterior and posterior compartment repair were randomized to mesh augmentation (mesh group, n ϭ 69) or colporrhaphy (no mesh group, n ϭ 70). Study subjects were enrolled between 2003 and 2005 at a tertiary teaching hospital. Prolapse was staged using the pelvic-organ-prolapse quantification (POP-Q) system. The primary study outcome was objective success of surgery defined as the absence of POP-Q stage 2 or more prolapse at 12 months following surgery. Questionnaires were used to assess secondary outcomes including symptoms, quality of life, and patient satisfaction.Of the 139 women, 63 of 69 (93.1%) in the mesh group and 61 of 70 (87.1%) in the no mesh group attended the 12-month follow-up. There was no significant difference at 12 months in objective success (POP-Q stage 0 or 1) between the mesh and no mesh groups (mesh: 81.0% ͓51/63͔ vs. no mesh: 65.6% ͓40/61͔; P ϭ 0.07). Although patients in both groups expressed a high level of satisfaction with the surgery and improved symptoms and parameters of quality of life compared to baseline, there was no statistically significant difference in these outcomes between the 2 groups (P ϭ ns). Postoperative complications in the mesh group included four cases (5.6%) of vaginal mesh exposure. At 12 months, de novo dyspareunia was reported in 27.8% (5/18) of the sexually active women without preoperative dyspareunia in the mesh group and in 41.7% (5/12) of those in the no mesh group. These differences were not significant (P ϭ 0.46).These findings show that anterior and posterior vaginal repair with mesh augmentation at 12 months after surgery does not result in significantly less recurrent prolapse than traditional colporrhaphy. GYNECOLOGY Volume 64, Number 12 OBSTETRICAL AND GYNECOLOGICAL SURVEY ABSTRACTThe presence of myomas can impair fertility. To preserve fertility in women with myomas wanting to become pregnant, myomectomy can be performed with laparotomy, laparoscopy, or hysteroscopy and achieve pregnancy rates of up to 70%. Advantages of laparoscopic techniques compared with laparotomy include shorter hospital stay, more rapid recovery, and less intra-abdominal adhesions. In addition, the overall complication rate is lower. Precise dissection and suturing, however, is especially difficult with traditional laparoscopy for myomas with a deep intramural and/or another unfavorable localization that have a probable impact on fec...