Systematic review of current russian-language literature on urogenital fistulas in women

Urogenital fistulas in women are an urgent problem in modern urology, gynecology and surgery. Several decades earlier, iatrogenic damage was the main reason for their development. The aim of this review was to analyze the etiology, characteristics and results of treatment of fistulas in women in Russia and the CIS countries. A systematic analysis of the articles in the PubMed and eLibrary databases dedicated to etiology, treatment technique and postoperative results of treatment of urogenital fistulas in women was carried out. The results were compared with European data. A total of 16 articles were selected over a 20-year period that met the inclusion criteria. Iatrogenic injury resulted in the fistula formation in 40.54% (373/920) of cases. The majority of fistulas were caused by radiation therapy (58.91%, 542/920). According to the results, 84.02% (773/920) of fistulas were successfully healed. Cure rate of patients with post-radiation fistulas was 75.83% (411/542). Comparison of surgical techniques was difficult, since in most cases the preference of the surgeon was main determinant factor.