Impact of episiotomy on the urogenital hiatus using transperineal ultrasound.

AIMS To analyze whether episiotomy affects the urogenital hiatal area and the difference in the hiatus at rest and during contraction, as an indirect measurement of the contractile capacity of the levator ani muscle. METHODS We performed an observational, comparative, retrospective study of primiparous women who had normal vaginal deliveries. The urogenital hiatal area was compared in women with and without episiotomy. All women underwent transperineal ultrasound scanning after delivery, and all the images were analyzed offline by the principal investigator who was blinded to all clinical data. The urogenital hiatal area was measured at rest and during both Valsalva and contraction manoeuvres. The difference in the hiatus at rest and during contraction was also calculated. These scanning variables were compared between the study groups. RESULTS In total, 194 women were analysed (101 with, and 93 without, episiotomy). There were no statistically significant differences between the groups regarding the area of the hiatus at rest (P = 0.583), on Valsalva (P = 0.158), and on contraction (P = 0.468), or in the difference in the hiatus at rest and during contraction (P = 0.095). CONCLUSIONS In normal vaginal delivery, neither the area of the urogenital hiatus nor its difference at rest and during contraction, as measured by ultrasound, were modified by performing an episiotomy.