Vesicouterine fistula: an updated review.

To ascertain the condition of vesicouterine fistula, a search of the medical literature using the Ovid version (Ovid Technologies Inc., New York, USA) of Medline (1966-1997) was undertaken, using the keywords vesicouterine, vesico-uterine, uterovesico, and utero-vesico fistula. A search of the earlier medical literature was by cross-referencing and is likely to be less complete than the computerized database. Nonetheless, the authors believe the most relevant publications were cited. On reviewing the subject it was noticed that there had been a change in obstetric practice between the first and the latter half of this century, namely an increase in the incidence of cesarean deliveries. However, the literature contains relatively little information on pathophysiology, possibly owing to the relative rarity of the lesion. Emphasis has been given to the most recent 10 years (1987-1997) in order to update the etiology, diagnosis and management of this clinical condition.