Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42078336›Full record

ArticlemedRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences2026

Sexual Function and Clitoral Anatomy after Vaginal Surgery with and without Midurethral Sling.

Shaniel T Bowen, Pamela A Moalli, Rebecca G Rogers, Marlene M Corton, Uduak U Andy, Charles R Rardin, Michael E Hahn, Alison C Weidner, David R Ellington, Donna Mazloomdoost and 2 more

Abstract readPreprint
In one paragraph

Article in medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Shaniel T BowenDepartment of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Science, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-4410-8481
Pamela A MoalliDepartment of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA.ORCID 0000-0001-9689-3824
Rebecca G RogersDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Albany Medical Center, Albany, NY.
Marlene M CortonDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX.ORCID 0000-0003-1469-9062
Uduak U AndyDivision of Urogynecology and Pelvic Reconstructive Surgery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-1213-6912
Charles R RardinDivision of Urogynecology, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI.
Michael E HahnDepartment of Radiology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-8323-8174
Alison C WeidnerDivision of Urogynecology, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Duke University, Durham, NC.ORCID 0000-0003-3859-1494
David R EllingtonDivision of Urogynecology and Pelvic Reconstructive Surgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL.ORCID 0000-0001-5888-5129
Donna MazloomdoostGynecologic Health and Disease Branch, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD.ORCID 0000-0001-9562-4083
Amaanti SridharRTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC.ORCID 0000-0001-7216-7713
Marie G GantzRTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC.ORCID 0000-0001-8528-0184

Funding

Pelvic Floor Disorders Network Data Coordinating Center (U01)U01HD069031 · NICHD · RESEARCH TRIANGLE INSTITUTE · PI GANTZ, MARIE G · 2011 to 2015
$19.7M
Porosity and tensioning: Critical factors to consider when choosing a prolapse meshR01HD083383 · NICHD · MAGEE-WOMEN'S RES INST AND FOUNDATION · PI ABRAMOWITCH, STEVEN D, MOALLI, PAMELA A. · 2016 to 2025
$5.5M
Perioperative Pelvic Floor Rehab: A Rrandomized TrialU10HD041261 · NICHD · UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM · PI RICHTER, HOLLY E · 2001 to 2015
$5.1M
UNC Pelvic Floor Disorders Research CollaborativeU10HD041267 · NICHD · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · PI VISCO, ANTHONY G · 2001 to 2015
$5.0M
Overcoming complications of polypropylene prolapse meshes: Development of novel elastomeric membranesR01HD097187 · NICHD · MAGEE-WOMEN'S RES INST AND FOUNDATION · PI Katrina Marquita Knight, Pamela A. Moalli · 2019 to 2026
$3.9M
Pelvic Floor Disorders NetworkU10HD054214 · NICHD · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · PI LUKACZ, EMILY S. · 2006 to 2015
$3.3M
The Cleveland Clinic Clinical SiteU10HD054215 · NICHD · CLEVELAND CLINIC LERNER COM-CWRU · PI BARBER, MATTHEW D · 2006 to 2015
$3.2M
Impact of hyperglycemic memory on innate immune response to urogynecologic meshR01HD108666 · NICHD · OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY · PI Rui Liang · 2023 to 2026
$2.5M
Pelvic Floor Disorders Network Clinical Sites (U10)U10HD069010 · NICHD · UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA · PI ARYA, LILY A · 2011 to 2015
$1.7M
Brown/WIH Pelvic Floor Disorders Network SiteU10HD069013 · NICHD · WOMEN AND INFANTS HOSPITAL-RHODE ISLAND · PI SUNG, VIVIAN W · 2011 to 2015
$1.6M
Pittsburgh Pelvic Floor Research ProgramU10HD069006 · NICHD · MAGEE-WOMEN'S RES INST AND FOUNDATION · PI ZYCZYNSKI, HALINA M · 2011 to 2015
$1.6M
RCT of Hypnotherapy vs Tpolterodine for OAB: Voiding and Brain Activation ChangesU10HD069025 · NICHD · UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO HEALTH SCIS CTR · PI ROGERS, REBECCA GLENN · 2011 to 2015
$1.6M
NICHD NIH HHS R01 HD083383NICHD NIH HHS R01 HD097187NICHD NIH HHS R01 HD108666NICHD NIH HHS U01 HD069031NICHD NIH HHS U10 HD041261NICHD NIH HHS U10 HD041267NICHD NIH HHS U10 HD054214NICHD NIH HHS U10 HD054215NICHD NIH HHS U10 HD069006NICHD NIH HHS U10 HD069010NICHD NIH HHS U10 HD069013NICHD NIH HHS U10 HD069025
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Importance: Sexual dysfunction can occur after midurethral sling (MUS) and transvaginal prolapse surgery. It remains unclear whether these procedures impact the clitoris, despite its role in sexual function and proximity to the MUS and vagina. Objectives: To compare postoperative sexual function and clitoral features by MUS and vaginal surgery approach after transvaginal prolapse repair with/without concomitant MUS. Design: Cross-sectional ancillary study of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and sexual function data from the Defining Mechanisms of Anterior Vaginal Wall Descent study. Setting: Eight clinical sites in the US Pelvic Floor Disorders Network.Participants: 88 women with uterovaginal prolapse who underwent vaginal mesh hysteropexy or vaginal hysterectomy with uterosacral ligament suspension with/without MUS between 2013-2015. Data were analyzed between September 2021-June 2023. Exposures: Between June 2014-May 2018, participants underwent pelvic MRI 30-42 months after surgery, or earlier if reoperation was desired. Sexual activity and function at baseline and 24-48-month follow-up were evaluated using the Pelvic Organ Prolapse/Incontinence Sexual Questionnaire, IUGA-Revised (PISQ-IR). Clitoral features were obtained from postoperative MRI-based 3-dimensional models. Main Outcomes and Measures: PISQ-IR scores and clitoral features (size, position). Results: Eighty-two women (median [range] age, 65 [47-79] years) were analyzed: 45 MUS (22 hysteropexy, 23 hysterectomy) and 37 No-MUS (19 hysteropexy, 18 hysterectomy).Postoperatively, 25 MUS, 12 No-MUS, 20 hysteropexy, and 17 hysterectomy patients were sexually active (SA). Overall, within the MUS and vaginal surgery groups, sexual function remained unchanged or improved (most PISQ-IR change from baseline scores were ≥0) among SA and NSA women. Among SA women after surgery, the MUS group (vs No-MUS) had a poorer PISQ-IR arousal/orgasm (SA-AO) score (median, 3.5 vs 4.3; P=.02). The hysteropexy group (vs hysterectomy) had less improvement in PISQ-IR SA-AO score (median, 0.0 vs 0.3; P=.01). Women with MUS (vs without) had a smaller clitoral glans thickness (median, 9.0 mm vs 10.0 mm; P=.008) and clitoral body volume (median, 2783.5 mm Conclusions and Relevance: SA women with MUS (vs without) or hysteropexy (vs hysterectomy) experienced poorer postoperative sexual function. MUS was linked to a smaller clitoris. Future studies should explore surgery-induced changes in clitoral anatomy and sexual function.

Identifiers

PMID42078336
PMCPMC13131715

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