MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING FOR STRESS URINARY INCONTINENCE

Abstract

The purpose of our study was to evaluate morphology of the urethra and it`s supporting structures and the grade of bladder prolapsus using static and dynamic MRI (D-MRI) with phased-array coil in woman with stress urinary incontinence (SUI). We compared 30 MRI in woman with SUI and 10 controls according to the grade of the bladder prolapsus, the distortion in the periurethral, paraurethral, pubourethral ligaments, the vesicourethral angle, the retropubic space, asymmetry of pubococcygeal muscle. There was a significantly higher pubourethral ligament distortion (р=0.024), asymmetry of pubococcygeal muscle(р=0.032), larger vesicourethral angle (152.09º±10.62º), v.s. 138.8º±12.59º;р=0.001) and retropubic space (7.8 mm v.s. 4.9 mm р=0.0402) in woman with SUI. There was no significant relationship between the grade of the bladder prolapsus in incontinent woman (р>0.05). The combined static and dynamic MRI can provide usefull information according certain structural abnormalities with specific disfunction, such as vesicourethralangle, retropubic space increase and pubourethral ligament distortion in patients with SUI.

Keywords

• urethra
• stress urinary incontinence
• pelvic floor
• magnetic resonance imaging
• dynamic mri