SURGICAL PROCEDURES FOR URETHRAL DIVERTICULA IN WOMEN IN THE UNITED STATES, 1979 – 1997

L.J. Burrows, MD, N.L.S. Howden, MD, L. Meyn, MS, A.M. Weber, MD, MS


   Objective: The objective of this study was to describe the national rates of surgery for urethral diverticula.

   Study Design: Data from the National Hospital Discharge Survey, a federal database that samples inpatient hospitals in the United States, were analyzed from 1979 to 1997 for diagnosis and procedure codes using the ICD-9-CM classification system. This time period was divided in half for the purpose of representing the differences in age and length of stay over time. Age-adjusted rates were calculated using the 1990 census population and compared for change over time using the Score test for linear trend.

   Results: The average age of women undergoing surgery from 1979 to 1988 was 41.4 ± 15.1 years and from 1989 to 1997 was 50.2 ± 14.5 years. The average length of hospital stay from 1979 to 1988 was 5.1 ± 3.8 days and from 1989 to 1997, it was 2.5 ± 1.9 days. Approximately 27,000 inpatient procedures were performed for the repair of urethral diverticula in the United States over a 19-year period, ranging from an estimated 500 to 3,400 cases per year. The overall age-adjusted rate of procedures performed during the study period fluctuated considerably over time, highest at 26.6 cases per 1,000,000 women in 1991 and lowest in 1997 with 3.1 cases per 1,000,000 women.

   Conclusion: The inpatient surgical repair of urethral diverticula is infrequent and rates appear to have decreased over time.

   Key Words: urethral diverticula, inpatient surgery, urethral surgery