A retrospective cohort study of perioperative management on the morbidity of urogynecologic surgery

Introduction and hypothesis To determine whether premenopausal and early (<70) and late postmenopausal women whose comorbidities were screened and managed using a standardized protocol experienced comparable perioperative complications after urogynecologic surgery. Methods We retrospectively reviewed the charts of all women who presented for surgical management of their pelvic floor disorders over 4.5 years for any complications, which occurred intraoperatively to 6 weeks postoperatively. Results Late postmenopausal women underwent more vaginal (100/124, 159/246, and 226/288, p < 0.001) and obliterative (15/124, 0/246, and 4/288, p < 0.001), and fewer abdominal (9/124, 87/246, and 58/288, p < 0.001) procedures and had lower body mass index (27.1, 31.4, and 29.4, P < 0.001) and fewer smokers (4/124, 86/246, and 52/288, p < 0.001) than premenopausal and early postmenopausal subjects. After adjusting for these differences, the proportions that experienced perioperative complications were similar among the three groups ( P = 0.789). Conclusions With standardized screening and management, our premenopausal and early and late postmenopausal women experienced similar perioperative complications.