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Neurourology and Urodynamics 25:307 (2006)
EDITORIALCOMMENT
Re: Dalpiaz O, Curti P. 2006. Role of Perineal Ultrasound in theEvaluation of Urinary Stress Incontinence and Pelvic Organ
Prolapse: A Systematic Review. Neurourol Urodynam 25:301^306
Ultrasound of the bladder has been introduced into femaleurology in the mid-¢fties of the last century. However it lastedanother 30 years, since its routine application in that ¢eld.Compared to conventional radiological procedures ultra-sound lacks side e¡ects, especially radiation exposure, a timelimiting factor especially for dynamic assessment of the lowerurogenital tract. Nowadays, the term pelvic £oor ultrasoundcomprises imaging of the female lower urogenital tract, thepelvic £oor and the anorectal region.
High-resolution techniques have been developed nowa-days, giving similar good resolution compared with MRI.Perineal and introital ultrasound have been introduced in theassessment of female urinary incontinence and pelvic £oordisorders, due to their advantageous ability to scan the blad-der, the urethra, the anorectal region and various structuresof the pelvic £oor at the same time. Moreover, dynamicchanges of these structures can be obtained without timelimit resulting in functional assessment and interaction ofpelvic structures in conjunction with other investigationaltechniques, for example, urodynamics. Many studies have
been published so far, dealing with various quantitativeconcepts to measure urogenital and pelvic £oor defects. TheGerman Society of Urogynecology has published recommen-dations to carry out sonography of the lower female urogenitaltract in order to increase reproducibility of the data obtainedby these various techniques. Qualitative and quantitativemeasures have been established, but still a profound processof evaluation and further research is needed.Availability of ultrasound instruments in many institutions
was one of the supportive factors which helped sonography¢nding its widespread use in many urogynecological institu-tions.New concepts and novel techniques, such as 3-D and 4-D
ultrasound are under investigation and further clinicallyrelevant results are awaited.
HeinzKoelbl, MD*Johannes-GutenbergUniversityMainz
Mainz,Germany
No con£ict of interest reported by the author(s).The views expressed in editorials and editorial comments are not necessarilyrepresentative of the views of the International Continence Society, theSociety for Urodynamics & FemaleUrology, or the Publisher.*Correspondence to: Heinz Koelbl, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaeco-logy, Johannes-Gutenberg University Mainz, Langenbeck Strasse 1, 55131Mainz, Germany. E-mail: [email protected] online 7 July 2006 inWiley InterScience(www.interscience.wiley.com)DOI 10.1002/nau.20310
�2006Wiley-Liss, Inc.
