Value of ultrasonographic measurement of bladder neck mobility in the management of female stress urinary incontinence

摘要

Transvaginal ultrasound is the first line imaging investigation in gynaecology. It was thus introduced for the exploration of female stress urinary incontinence at the beginning of the 1980s. Various techniques and parameters of ultrasound examination have been used for the assessment of bladder neck mobility. The aim of this literature review was to suggest the adequate ultrasound technique to study bladder neck mobility. We reviewed articles indexed in MEDLINE dealing with urogenital ultrasound and published between 1998 and 2008. The bladder-symphysis distance measured by transperineal ultrasound is a reliable and reproductive tool to study female stress urinary incontinence. Despite a lack of standardization of Valsalva manoeuvre, normal bladder neck mobility is estimated between 15 and 20 mm. Furthermore, in case of complications from stress urinary incontinence surgery, ultrasound is considered as the first line imaging test. Perineal ultrasound is an interesting investigation for preoperative assessment of stress urinary incontinence or in case of surgery failure or complications. This suggests the need for wider diffusion of this technique in urogynecology teams.