Ava Saidian, MD, on preserving pelvic floor health after cystectomy

In this video, Ava Saidian, MD, highlights the importance of preventing pelvic prolapse in female patients following bladder cancer surgery. Saidian is a urologic oncologist and assistant professor of urology at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis, Tennessee.

Video Transcript:

Something that's a little bit more specific to women who have undergone radical surgery for bladder cancer is their overall pelvic floor health. A big issue after women who have gotten cystectomies with or without vaginectomies or hysterectomies is pelvic prolapse. We really need to know [did] they have prolapse beforehand? Do they have risk factors for prolapse? And what can we do to preserve that? I think as urologists, we need to become more comfortable with the female pelvic floor and operating there in terms of preserving the ligaments that can help keep their pelvic floor suspended and help prevent prolapse and even dehiscence, which can be a catastrophic outcome from these surgeries. That can significantly affect their quality of life after these surgeries that we do.

This transcript was AI generated and edited by human editors for clarity.