Does Intraoperative Bladder Instillation Decrease Outpatient Recovery Time After Mid-Urethral Sling

Urinary stress incontinence affects 4-35% of women. Due to the large economic impact and prevalence of the disease, urinary incontinence is a significant public health issue. With rising healthcare costs it has become increasingly important to manage patient care in the most cost-efficient manner. Considering the increasing number of women undergoing mid-urethral sling procedures, it is imperative that perioperative care is streamlined in order to minimize cost. The Cedars-Sinai Center for Continence and Women's Pelvic Health instituted a new practice pattern that enables patients to complete a voiding trial sooner after surgery compared to previous practice patterns thus allowing patients to be discharged earlier and ultimately decreasing cost. The purpose of this study is to compare the previous voiding trial practice (emptying the bladder at the end of surgery) versus the newly instituted practice (filling with bladder with 250cc) and perform a cost benefit analysis to determine if there is a significant decrease in recovery and discharge time. Both of these practices fall under the standard-of-care. However, of the several standard-of-care procedures, none have been tested for superiority. To date there are no randomized control trials that address this issue in female mid-urethral sling surgery.

Boccola et al showed in a study of 60 men who had undergone transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) that by instilling the bladder with 300-500cc of warm saline the time to void was significantly decreased compared to standard indwelling catheter removal. It was also shown that the bladder instillation group had a significantly shorter time to discharge. The study suggested that given the significant decrease in time in recovery, this would be an ideal practice for many other outpatient procedures. Willson, et al, in another randomized trial of 75 men who underwent TURP, found that bladder infusion allowed early decision-making for discharge on the second postoperative day. Finally, McAchran and Goldman found that when patients were managed using a fast-track regimen in the outpatient setting after mid-urethral sling procedures the median time from the recovery area to discharge was less than 3 hours.

For our study, if a significant decrease in the time to discharge with the newly instituted practice pattern is demonstrated, then this practice can be adopted by other institutions and become the new standard of care to help decrease both cost and patient time in the hospital.