Clinical Trials

Specific Aims

Pelvic organ prolapse is a common and distressing condition that is frequently associated with stress urinary incontinence (SUI) and often requires surgical repair. Abdominal sacral colpopexy is the preferred operation for repairing pelvic prolapse. As many as 91% of women with pelvic organ prolapse undergoing sacral colpopexy also experience SUI. In addition, up to 44% of previously continent women develop SUI incontinence after sacral colpopexy: perhaps because a sacral colpopexy may predispose to opening of the bladder neck if secured too tightly. The selection of a surgical procedure to prevent and manage SUI in women undergoing sacral colpopexy is empiric rather than evidence-based.

Conceptually, a mid-urethral sling may be more effective than a Burch procedure for preventing urinary leakage because a sling provides outlet resistance beyond the bladder neck and therefore it may compensate for a downward tension on the bladder neck resulting from the sacral colpopexy. Indeed, clinical observations suggest that a mid-urethral sling is effective among women who have persistent urinary incontinence after sacral colpopexy with a Burch procedure. Therefore, the investigators' global hypothesis is that a mid-urethral sling is preferable to a Burch procedure for preventing and improving stress urinary incontinence in women undergoing sacral colpopexy for pelvic organ prolapse.

The investigators' SPECIFIC AIMS are to evaluate objective and subjective outcomes at 6, 12 and 24 months in 124 women with urinary incontinence and advanced pelvic organ prolapse. All women will be undergoing a sacral colpopexy and will be randomized to either a Burch procedure or a mid-urethral sling. The primary endpoint is composite continence at 6 months while secondary endpoints will include composite continence and subjective measures of incontinence, patient satisfaction and morbidity associated with these procedures. The investigators' hypotheses are as follows:

1. At 6 months, urinary continence rates will be higher after a mid-urethral than after a Burch procedure. Urine continence will be assessed by composite measure of incontinence: no subjective complaint, no interim treatment, and negative standardized stress test performed by a masked observer. This assessment will be repeated at 12 and 24 months post-operatively to establish the medium term continence of the two procedures. Subjective continence and patient satisfaction measures will be obtained at each of the above visits using standardized questionnaires and pelvic organ support will be quantified by Pelvic Organ Prolapse-Quantification (POP-Q) scores.
2. Early events (e.g., blood loss, operative time, intra-operative complications (vascular, bowel and urological injuries), in-hospital complications (need for transfusion, febrile morbidity, thrombotic events, wound infection, length of stay, duration of bladder catheterization and ileus) and delayed postoperative complications (e.g., wound infection, mesh erosion, bowel obstruction and obstructed voiding) will be collected to compare the safety of each procedure.

The purpose of this study is to test the safety, patient-reported results, and the adoption into practice of a new model of prenatal care called OB Nest. OB nest is intended to create an experience for patients that feels more connected and patient-centered, allowing the patient to visit the clinic less frequently while offering increased communication with the OB nurses and providers through new tools provided to the patient.

Induction of labor, or causing labor to start before it otherwise starts spontaneously, is sometimes necessary as pregnancy progresses to ensure the safety of both mother and infant. Labor induction often begins with cervical ripening, in which various methods are used to prepare the cervix for contractions and labor. Cervical ripening is beneficial and decreases the need for cesarean section; however, it can be a lengthy process. By tradition, pregnant women are admitted to the hospital at the start of this process and remain inpatient until after the baby is born. There is increasing interest in allowing the mother to return to her own home during the very first part of this process. She may be more satisfied in a more comfortable environment with her family. Growing scientific evidence supports use of the Foley catheter as an approach to outpatient cervical ripening. The Foley catheter is a safe, effective method that is already used often in the inpatient setting. It does not cause increased health risks for either mother or baby. Previous research studies have shown that it is just as safe and effective when women return to their own homes with a Foley catheter and that women spend less time in the hospital before delivery. More information is needed before this becomes a standard of care. This research study will allow pregnant women to return home for the first night of their labor induction with a Foley catheter in place. In the morning they will return to the hospital and stay until after delivery. They will be compared to a group of women who remain in the hospital for their entire labor induction. The benefits to going home during labor induction may include increasing maternal satisfaction and optimizing the use of resources in the hospital.

This study is designed to answer if an ergonomist can configure a daVinci robot console to improve surgeon discomfort. Adjustments to the robot console will be surgeon specific as they are tailored to their individual body type. Measurements will be taken at the time of console configuration.

This is a pilot study to evaluate whether targeting inflammation will help reduce markers of insulin resistance inflammation, bone resorption and physical dysfunction in elderly women with gait disturbance. Positive results of this study would lead to the development of a larger clinical trial examining the effects of this intervention on age-related dysfunction.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether the routine use of belladonna and opium suppositories will improve pain control following vaginal surgery.

The purpose of this study is to determine the value of adding AMG 479 (a fully human monoclonal antibody against IGF-1R) to paclitaxel and carboplatin (first line chemotherapy) for the treatment of patients who have ovarian epithelial cancer that has been surgically removed to less than 1 cm thick.

The purpose of this study is to test the immune response to the Human Papillomavirus Vaccine in girls who have inflammatory bowel disease. The vaccine may not respond well in these girls, either due to having IBD or due to the immunosuppressants used to control IBD.

This study seeks to find out if Sex SMART (Stress Management And Resiliency Training for Sexuality), using mindfulness techniques in a woman's everyday routine, is a feasible and effective treatment to increase sexual function in women who report sexual distress compared to those receiving the current standard of care.

The purpose of this study is to compare the effectiveness and safety of elacestrant to the standard of care (SoC) options of fulvestrant or an aromatase inhibitor (AI) in women and men with breast cancer whose disease has advanced on at least one endocrine therapy including a CDK4/6 inhibitor in combination with fulvestrant or an aromatase inhibitor (AI) .