THE PRESURGICAL AND POSTSURGICAL NURSING OF WOMEN WITH STRESS-INCONTINENCE

The aim of the present study was to evaluate subjective and objective methods used for the investigation or stress urinary incontinence (SUI ) and to compare the outcome of two different surgical techniques rega rding cure rate, postoperative nursing, bladder drainage and postopera tive pain relief. The study included 45 women with SUI, randomized eit her to retropubic urethrocystopexy (n = 30) or pubococcygeal repair (n = 15), The assessment included medical history, gynaecological examin ation, urine analysis and culture, residual urine, pad test, frequency -continence charts, water urethrocystoscopy, continence test, and cyst ometry with micturition analysis, Moreover, Beck's Depression Inventor y and the Eysenck Personality Inventory were used before surgery. One year after surgery no significant difference in subjective cure rate w as found between the two surgical methods (73% vs. 80%, respectively). According to pad tests, 67% of the women in the urethrocystopexy grou p and 47% in the pubococcygeal repair group had ceased to leak urine, The bladder volume increased significantly in both groups, Sixty-three per cent of the women in the urethrocystopexy and 33% in the pubococc ygeal repair group experienced severe to very severe postoperative pai n. In these groups, significantly more dysphoric women were found as c ompared with the group of women with less postoperative pain. Furtherm ore, the women with more severe pain scared higher on the neuroticism scale. These findings indicate the importance of personality factors i n the treatment and nursing of women with SUI.