Minimally Invasive Burch Colposuspension to Reduce Occult Stress Incontinence (MICRO)

This study evaluates the addition of a laparoscopic Burch colposuspension procedure at the time of laparoscopic sacrocolpopexy to prevent stress urinary incontinence. Half of the participants will undergo Burch colposuspension procedure at the time of sacrocolpopexy, and half of the participants will undergo sacrocolpopexy alone.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Sexual Dysfunction; Pelvic Organ Prolapse; Urinary Incontinence, Urge; Urinary Incontinence,Stress; Bowel Dysfunction
• Intervention / Treatment: Procedure: Laparoscopic Burch Colposuspension

Detailed Description

In the United States it is estimated that 13% of women will undergo surgery for POP by age 80. In patients without symptoms of stress urinary incontinence (SUI), surgical correction of pelvic organ prolapse (POP) by itself can result in postoperative occult SUI. Two multicenter randomized trials of stress-continent women undergoing vaginal or open prolapse surgery showed lower rates of postoperative SUI if patients undergo concomitant anti-incontinence procedures. However, adverse outcomes vary based on the type of anti-incontinence procedure (open Burch colposuspension or retropubic midurethral sling) and route of surgery (open or vaginal), and therefore the preferred approach to address occult SUI is unknown.

Sacrocolpopexy is the gold standard surgical repair of pelvic organ prolapse of the apical compartment. The Burch colposuspension is a retropubic procedure in which the periurethral tissue of the anterior vagina is affixed to Cooper's ligament on either side using permanent suture bridges. In the Colpopexy and Urinary Reduction Efforts (CARE) trial patients without preoperative symptoms of SUI were randomized to receive or not to receive concomitant prophylactic Burch colposuspension at the time of abdominal sacrocolpopexy. At three months, the subjects who underwent the Burch procedure were found to have lower rates of SUI after surgery (33.6%) compared to the control group (57.4%). Furthermore, of patients who tested negative for SUI on preoperative urodynamic testing, 22.9 % of those who underwent the Burch procedure had SUI compared to 47.9% in the control group. Burch colposuspension did not increase the rate of urinary retention, urge incontinence, urinary urgency, urinary tract infection, intra or post-operative complications. The data in this trial supported the placement of prophylactic Burch colposuspension at the time of abdominal sacrocolpopexy.

Over the last decade, there has been a shift away from open routes of surgical access secondary to decreased morbidity and quicker recovery associated with minimally invasive procedures. As a result, open abdominal sacrocolpopexy with Burch colposuspension has fallen out of favor, and minimally invasive laparoscopic sacrocolpopexy is performed with greater frequency. Additionally, midurethral slings (MUS) have become the gold standard surgical procedure for the treatment of SUI and are performed more frequently than Burch colposuspension at the time of prolapse surgery. The Outcomes Following Vaginal Prolapse Repair and Midurethral Sling (OPUS) study examined the placement of prophylactic MUS at the time of vaginal prolapse surgery. Patients with MUS had lower rates of SUI than control group at 3 months (23.6% vs 49.4%) and at 12 months (27.3% vs 43%). However, unlike the CARE trial, patients with concomitant anti-incontinence procedure had higher rates of adverse events including bladder perforation (6.7% vs 0%), UTI (31.0% vs 18.3%), major bleeding (3.1% vs 0%), and incomplete bladder emptying at 6 weeks (3.7% vs 0%). In addition, MUS carries the risk of mesh erosion into the vagina or urinary tract.

By studying the addition of laparoscopic (including robotic) Burch colposuspension to laparoscopic sacrocolpopexy, the investigators anticipate optimizing surgical outcomes and minimizing complications for patients.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 50
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Illinois
    • Chicago, Illinois, United States, 60611
      • Northwestern University Prentice Women's Hospital
    • Maywood, Illinois, United States, 60153
      • Loyola University Hospital

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• English or Spanish speaking and reading
• Symptomatic pelvic organ prolapse with any compartment at or beyond the hymen
• Stress-continent, as defined as response of "no" to question 17 of PFDI-20: "Do you usually experience urine leakage related to coughing, sneezing, or laughing?", as well as a negative empty supine stress test.
• Planning laparoscopic or robotic sacrocolpopexy, with or without hysterectomy
• Have completed childbearing

Exclusion Criteria:

• Adults unable to consent
• Pregnant women or patients desiring future pregnancy
• Patients undergoing uterine sparing surgery
• Individuals under age 18
• Prior procedure for stress urinary incontinence
• Prior retropubic surgery

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Double

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Control; Patients in this arm will undergo standard laparoscopic or robotic sacrocolpopexy, without the addition of a laparoscopic/robotic Burch colposuspension
Active Comparator: Laparoscopic Burch Colposuspension; Patients in this arm will undergo standard laparoscopic or robotic sacrocolpopexy, with the addition of a laparoscopic/robotic Burch colposuspension	Procedure: Laparoscopic Burch Colposuspension; The Burch Colposuspension is an anti-incontinence procedure where non-absorbable monofilament suture is used in the retropubic space to form a suture bridge between the anterior vagina and Cooper's ligament, thereby gently elevating the anterior vaginal wall and providing urethral support.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Number of Participants With Stress Urinary Incontinence	Rate of Stress Urinary Incontinence, as defined as a participant satisfying one or more of the following: A positive retro-fill cough stress test at 300mL; Answer of "yes" to question #17 of Pelvic Floor Distress Inventory 20 (PFDI-20); Any treatment for stress urinary incontinence after the study surgery	3 months following study intervention

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Sexual Function	Compare Sexual Function utilizing the Pelvic Organ Prolapse/Urinary Incontinence Sexual Questionnaire 12 (PISQ-12). Participants respond to each question on a scale of 0 to 4, with higher scores indicating greater dysfunction. The sum of scores is reported for this subscale, with a minimum score of 0 and maximum score of 48.	3 months following study intervention
Number of Participants With Urinary Urgency Incontinence	Rate of Urgency Urinary Incontinence, as defined as a participant satisfying one or more of the following: Answer of "yes" to question #16 of Pelvic Floor Distress Inventory 20 (PFDI-20); Any treatment for urgency urinary incontinence after the study surgery	3 months following study intervention
Number of Participate With Urinary Frequency	Values based on response of "moderately" or "quite a bit" to Question #15 of PFDI-20: "Do you usually experience frequent urination?"	3 months following study intervention
Number of Participants With Urinary Retention	Rate of Urinary Retention, defined as a post void residual greater than 150 mL obtained via straight catheterization	3 months following study intervention
Number of Participants With Urinary Tract Infection	Rate of Urinary Tract Infection, defined as a positive urine culture obtained from a straight catheterized urine specimen, from participants with symptoms of urinary tract infection (fever, dysuria, urinary urgency, urinary frequency).	3 months following study intervention
Pelvic Organ Prolapse Symptoms	Compare Pelvic Organ Prolapse Symptoms utilizing the Pelvic Floor Distress Inventory 20 (PFDI-20), questions #1-6. Participants respond to each question on a scale of 0 to 4, with higher scores indicating greater dysfunction. The sum of scores is reported for this subscale, with a minimum score of 0 and maximum score of 24.	3 months following study intervention
Bowel Symptoms	Compare Bowel Symptoms utilizing the Pelvic Floor Distress Inventory 20 (PFDI-20), questions #7-14. Participants respond to each question on a scale of 0 to 4, with higher scores indicating greater dysfunction. The sum of scores is reported for this subscale, with a minimum score of 0 and maximum score of 32.	3 months following study intervention
Number of Participants With Surgical Complication	Compare rate of intraoperative and short-term surgical complications, as defined by the Dindo classification system.	3 months following study intervention

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Northwestern University
• Collaborators: Friends of Prentice
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Sarah A Collins, MD, Northwestern University

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Geller EJ, Siddiqui NY, Wu JM, Visco AG. Short-term outcomes of robotic sacrocolpopexy compared with abdominal sacrocolpopexy. Obstet Gynecol. 2008 Dec;112(6):1201-1206. doi: 10.1097/AOG.0b013e31818ce394.
• Wu JM, Matthews CA, Conover MM, Pate V, Jonsson Funk M. Lifetime risk of stress urinary incontinence or pelvic organ prolapse surgery. Obstet Gynecol. 2014 Jun;123(6):1201-1206. doi: 10.1097/AOG.0000000000000286.
• Paraiso MF, Walters MD, Rackley RR, Melek S, Hugney C. Laparoscopic and abdominal sacral colpopexies: a comparative cohort study. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2005 May;192(5):1752-8. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2004.11.051.
• Hsiao KC, Latchamsetty K, Govier FE, Kozlowski P, Kobashi KC. Comparison of laparoscopic and abdominal sacrocolpopexy for the treatment of vaginal vault prolapse. J Endourol. 2007 Aug;21(8):926-30. doi: 10.1089/end.2006.0381.
• Wei JT, Nygaard I, Richter HE, Nager CW, Barber MD, Kenton K, Amundsen CL, Schaffer J, Meikle SF, Spino C; Pelvic Floor Disorders Network. A midurethral sling to reduce incontinence after vaginal prolapse repair. N Engl J Med. 2012 Jun 21;366(25):2358-67. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1111967.
• Brubaker L, Cundiff GW, Fine P, Nygaard I, Richter HE, Visco AG, Zyczynski H, Brown MB, Weber AM; Pelvic Floor Disorders Network. Abdominal sacrocolpopexy with Burch colposuspension to reduce urinary stress incontinence. N Engl J Med. 2006 Apr 13;354(15):1557-66. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa054208.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): January 29, 2019
• Primary Completion (Actual): September 27, 2022
• Study Completion (Actual): September 27, 2022

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: January 23, 2019
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 13, 2019
• First Posted (Actual): February 15, 2019

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): August 26, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 25, 2025
• Last Verified: August 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Laparoscopy; Robotic Surgery; Sacrocolpopexy; Burch Colposuspension
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Urogenital Diseases; Genital Diseases; Male Urogenital Diseases; Pathological Conditions, Anatomical; Urologic Diseases; Female Urogenital Diseases; Female Urogenital Diseases and Pregnancy Complications; Urination Disorders; Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms; Urological Manifestations; Digestive System Diseases; Gastrointestinal Diseases; Urinary Incontinence; Prolapse; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Signs and Symptoms; Urinary Incontinence, Stress; Intestinal Diseases; Pelvic Organ Prolapse; Urinary Incontinence, Urge; Sexual Dysfunction, Physiological
• Other Study ID Numbers: STU00208016

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No