Persistent bladder dysfunction after surgical and combination therapy of cancer of the cervix uteri stages Ib and IIa.

The present study is a urologic follow-up investigation of 27 women 17 to 32 months after treatment for carcinoma of the cervix stage Ib and IIa. In 10 women treatment had been exclusively with surgery, while 17 women had received treatment with cesium before surgery. Two patients had major urologic problems with severe stress incontinence and persistent bladder infection, respectively, while 19 had minor urologic complaints on questioning. Nine of twenty-two women (41%) subjected to denervation supersensitivity tests had positive tests. No correlation between a positive denervation test and urologic complaints or findings at cystometrograms could be found. No differences in urologic complaints or results of denervation tests and cystometrograms were found between women treated with surgery exclusively or with cesium before surgery. All treated women had unimpaired renal function judged by serum creatinine and isotopic renography.