RT Book, Section A1 Hoffman, Barbara L. A1 Schorge, John O. A1 Bradshaw, Karen D. A1 Halvorson, Lisa M. A1 Schaffer, Joseph I. A1 Corton, Marlene M. SR Print(0) ID 1125289161 T1 Genitourinary Fistula and Urethral Diverticulum T2 Williams Gynecology, 3e YR 2016 FD 2016 PB McGraw-Hill Education PP New York, NY SN 978-0-07-184908-1 LK obgyn.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1125289161 RD 2024/10/10 AB A genitourinary fistula is defined as an abnormal communication between the urinary (ureters, bladder, urethra) and the genital (uterus, cervix, vagina) systems. The true incidence of genitourinary fistula is unknown and varies according to whether the etiology is obstetric or gynecologic. In Asia and Africa, up to 100,000 new cases of obstetric genitourinary fistula are added each year to the estimated pool of 2 million women with unrepaired fistulas (World Health Organization, 2014). For industrialized countries, most fistulas occur iatrogenically from pelvic surgery, and the generally accepted incidence derives from data on surgeries to correct these fistulas. For example, numbers from the National Hospital Discharge Survey of inpatient women show that approximately 4.8 per 100,000 women underwent lower reproductive tract fistula repair (Brown, 2012). This likely is underestimated as many cases are unreported, unrecognized, or treated conservatively. Of genitourinary fistulas, the vesicovaginal fistula is most common and develops significantly more frequently than ureterovaginal fistulas (Goodwin, 1980; Shaw, 2014).