Pelvic Floor Disorders: State of the Art and Future Perspectives

Dear Colleagues,

Pelvic floor disorders such as pelvic organ prolapse, urinary incontinence or voiding disorders are common and may significantly affect quality of life. In detail, pelvic organ prolapse (POP), for example, represents a major health issue for women worldwide, affecting up to 50% of postmenopausal women. With increasing age, both the incidence and prevalence of POP rise, and this will increase substantially in the future according to studies that have made forecasts in this respect. Treatment options for POP include bedside observation, pessary use and pelvic floor surgery. The latter currently has a lifetime risk of 11.1%. and is equally expected to increase. Furthermore, overactive bladder syndrome as well as stress urinary incontinence are also common diseases. Treatment involves conservative approaches such as weight reduction or improved fluid intake, as well as physical therapy in the form of pelvic floor training or bladder training. Pharmacological medication includes antimuscarinic and beta-adrenergic drugs, as well as estrogen agents. Additionally, incontinence surgery is a further option.

As pelvic floor disorders are common diseases, increasing in likelihood with women's age and affecting the quality of life of the women concerned, it is extremely important to continue to focus research on diagnosis, treatment and innovative future strategies.

Personalized approaches to treatment as well as research in the field of microbiome analysis of the urine over recent decades have led to significant improvements in treatment and preventive strategies in this group of patients. The aim of this Special Issue titled “Pelvic Floor Disorders: State of the Art and Future Perspectives” is to collect and publish original articles as well as reviews demonstrating advances in the diagnostic and therapeutic research field of urogynecology. In summary, better understanding in this field could also help clinicians better guide their patient toward suitable treatment decisions.

Dr. Barbara Bodner-Adler
Guest Editor

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• overactive bladder syndrome
• urinary incontinence
• stress urinary incontinence
• voiding disorders
• pelvic organ prolapse
• conservative treatment
• surgical procedures
• pathophysiology
• preventive strategy
• urinary microbiota