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Vesicovaginal Fistula

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Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery

Abstract

Genitourinary fistulas in women have existed since time immemorial. Genitourinary fistulas in women have existed since time immemorial. Derry [1] of Cairo, in 1935, while examining the Henhenit mummy, who was either a queen or dancer in the court of Mentuhotep of the eleventh dynasty, Egypt (circa 2050 BC), found an extensive urinary fistula and complete tear of the perineum — the result of difficult labor. Avicenna [2], the Perso-Arab physician of over a millennium ago, in his Al-Kanoon, warns the physician of the incurability and lifelong curse of fistulas. Reports of Van Roonhuyse [3] in 1663 and Fatio [4] in 1752 described early successes using quills. However, it was not until the nineteenth century and the pioneering work of James Marion Sims [5] in Montgomery, Alabama, that the first successful repair of vesicovaginal fistula (VVF) using “silver-wire sutures” was carried out, in 1849. This success set the stage for modern surgical techniques and earned Sims the title of “father of modern gynecology”.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Section of Urogynecology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology University of Toronto, Mount Sinai Hospital, Lawrence and Frances Bloomberg Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Professor Harold P. Drutz (Professor and Head)

  2. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Riverside Medical Centre, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

    Dr Kevin R. Baker (Assistant Professor)

Authors
  1. Professor Harold P. Drutz
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  2. Dr Kevin R. Baker
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Urogynecology Unit, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    H. P. Drutz BA, MD, FRC(C), FACOG, FSOGC

  2. Division of Urology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    S. Herschorn BSc, MDCM, FRCSC

  3. Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    N. E. Diamant MD, FRCP(C)

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© 2003 Springer-Verlag London Limited

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Drutz, H.P., Baker, K.R. (2003). Vesicovaginal Fistula. In: Drutz, H.P., Herschorn, S., Diamant, N.E. (eds) Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-84628-238-1_43

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/1-84628-238-1_43

  • Publisher Name: Springer, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-84628-237-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-84628-238-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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