Laparoscopic Burch for stress incontinence
Stress Urinary Incontinence is leakage of urine during coughing, sneezing, lifting weights and other physical activities increasing intraabdominal pressure. Many women have stress urinary incontinence but do not seek treatment for it. Nowadays minimally invasive surgeries are available for this problem in the form of suburethral slings inserted vaginally or laparoscopic suspension of the bladder neck. These surgeries give good results and require a very short hospital stay.
Laparoscopic Burch procedure is a suspension of the bladder neck to the ligament of the pubic bone. This is a very small ligament and this procedure offers very good results. Burch procedure is considered the gold standard for treatment of stress urinary incontinence. The procedure does not use any mesh which is an additional advantage. It can also be combined with other laparoscopic surgery for example Laparoscopic hysterectomy if required. It is the surgery of choice in cases who have a failed urethral sling.
This surgery is done using a laparoscope, which is a slender, fiber-optic tube equipped with a miniature camera, lights and surgical instruments inserted through few small cuts ranging from 5mm to 1 cm in length in the abdominal wall. After a small incision is made in or above the belly button, carbon dioxide gas is introduced to distend the abdomen. Laparoscope is put in and additional smaller cuts are made under vision to introduce surgical instruments. The bladder neck is suspended to the pectineal ligament using nonabsorbable sutures.
Advantages of Laparoscopic Burch over conventional open Burch
- Lesser Blood Loss
- Lower Post Operative pain
- Shorter Stay at Hospital.
- Lesser abdominal wall infections.
- Fast Recovery from surgery wounds.
- Less chances of incisional hernia
- Cosmetically better as small scars
This is an advanced surgery that requires a surgeon with expertise in laparoscopic surgery. We have performed this surgery in many women successfully and it is gratifying to see the improvement in their Quality of life. Please note that Laparoscopic surgery does not mean it is a minor surgery.
