Factors influencing patient decision making in Urogynaecology: You are what you know

Excerpt

In a recent professional conversation, a gynecological oncologist colleague exclaimed “You poor urogynaecologists! You do not know which single operation is the best because there are too many options so patients have to be counseled for ages. After your operations, recovery of function does not necessarily follow restored anatomy so women become frequently disappointed, even more so if they have a postoperative complication for a non-life-threatening condition. In contrast, my patients are simply happy if they survive after surgery”. Although this seems to be the perception of our subspecialty among the gynecological community, we usually consider it a privilege having different conservative and surgical options for the management of pelvic floor disorders that we can offer to our patients. The privilege is, however, challenging for several reasons. …