Painful Complications after Pelvic Floor Reconstructive Surgery in Transobturator Suburethral Vaginal Slings

Abstract

Stress incontinence is a major social and health problem for middle-aged and elderly women, with an increasing prevalence as life expectancy increases. Reconstructive surgery techniques using vaginal mesh slings of polypropylene (synthetic grafts) have diversified in recent years, but at the same time various postoperative complications have been reported, among the frequent ones being pelvic pain, thigh pain and dyspareunia. The pain mechanism is not fully understood, but pathophysiological theories describe the pain as closely related to the structure, density, size and elasticity of the vaginal mesh, and the inflammatory response of the host.