Does Retropubic Hydrodissection Decrease Trocar-induced Bladder Perforation Rates During Placement of Retropubic Midurethral Slings? A Randomized Controlled Trial

All female adult subjects presenting to the UMass urogynecology clinic for scheduled retropubic midurethral sling surgery will be eligible for recruitment. Subjects will also be recruited if they are fluent in English and/or Spanish, and able to fill out consent and questionnaires. Subjects would be excluded if they are limited English or Spanish proficiency to participate in the study, pregnant, or having concurrent surgery for malignancy.

At the time of enrollment which would be done at a preoperative visit, subjects would be asked to fill out a baseline urinary symptom questionnaire (UDI-6). On the day of surgery, each subject would be randomized via computer-generated randomization table to either the intervention group (receiving retropubic hydrodissection) or no intervention group.

The method of hydrodissection is described as the following: After the peri-urethral dissection is performed and the bladder is continuously drained and emptied via Foley catheter, a 20-gauge spinal needle is used to administer a total of 60ml of sterile injectable saline in the retropubic space. The surgeon will insert the needle approximately 2-3cm on each side of the midline just above the pubic symphysis. With another hand in the vagina, the surgeon will guide the needle to the retropubic space and infiltrate along the anticipated path of the trocar and inject 30ml of saline in the retropubic space on each side.

Intraoperative data collected includes number of trocar-induced bladder