Highlights of IUGA 37th annual meeting in Brisbane 2012

Abstract

It was a long journey for most of the international delegates who came to Brisbane, Australia for the 37th International Urogynecological Association (IUGA) annual scientific meeting this year. Despite the distance, there was not sufficient time to digest all the abstracts in-flight. Indeed, 17 nations were represented, with 1,400 delegates attending the 2012 IUGA. There were 21 workshops in the first 2 days, 7 state-of-the-art roundtable addresses and debates, 96 podium/video presentations, and 228 poster presentations. The meeting began with interactive workshops which were all popular, especially Abdul Sultan's anal sphincter repair, the 3 ultrasound workshops, the anatomy cadaver workshop with John DeLancey, and the Urogynaecological Society of Australasia (UGSA) live surgery demonstration chaired by Mickey Karram and Malcolm Fraser.The extensive scientific program, which also included the European Urogynecological Association (EUGA) surgical course and Ibero-American urogynecology session, catered to a variety of experience and educational needs. The complementary nature and high caliber of the scientific program was evident. Basic science communications gave an overview of current research interests including one describing the effects of cyclic mechanical loading on fibroblasts from women with different Pelvic Organ Prolapse Quantification (POP-Q) stage [1]. High-quality studies followed with two randomized controlled trials on the most controversial topic of the day: the mesh repair [2,3] and a Cochrane review [4] which was awarded best abstract. Further surgical studies included one where the classical Richter suspension (vaginal sacrospinous fixation) at hysterectomy had a higher failure rate in patients with levator injury and was significantly inferior to the mesh procedure [5] and another where better anatomical and functional success rates were reported with mesh compared with traditional anterior colporrhaphy [2]. Surgical procedures were assessed on quality of life [6] and symptoms [7] with greater emphasis on these than anatomical results, highlighting the importance of subjective outcomes. Nonrandomized controlled studies included, for example, in the surgical complication category, the importance of diagnosis of intraoperative visceral injury to the bladder with the methylene blue test and digital rectal exam in vaginal surgery [8,9]. An elegant demonstration of abdominal prolapse repair with robotic assistance was shown in the video category [10]. The category of urinary dysfunction included topics such as "Does surgery for urinary incontinence in women affect their use of symptomrelieving medications?" [11], musculoskeletal pain evaluation of patients with interstitial cystitis [12], and a systematic review of bulking agents for urinary incontinence [13].A wide range of conservative therapies were evaluated, including the safe and effective use of pessary over a median duration of 35 months [14], a prospective multicenter study of solifenacin for overactive bladder [15], and the role of perc...