We have extensive experience as leaders in research, including surgical trials and patient-reported outcomes.
Specifically, our research has focused on ways to help physicians and patients better understand female pelvic conditions, the impact of pelvic floor disorders on women, and how to treat pelvic floor disorders. We have published our research in well-respected medical journals such as The New England Journal of Medicine, The Journal of the American Medical Association, The American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Jump to publications by:
Christine M. Chu, MD
Chu CM, Harvie HS, Smith AL, Arya LA, Andy UU. The Impact of the Pharmacologic Treatment of Overactive Bladder on Limitations in Physical Activity. Submitted.
Chu CM, Arya LA, Andy UU. Impact of Urinary Incontinence on Female Sexual Health in Women During Midlife. Accepted, Women’s Midlife Health.
Chu CM, Arya L. Prevention of catheter-associated urinary tract infection following gynaecologic surgery: a systematic review. EMJ Urol. 2014;1:66-73.
Chu CM, Dabney L, Hardart A. Treatment of urinary retention caused by uterine leiomyoma with a gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist: case report and review. Female Pelvic Med Reconstr Surg. 2013 Jan-Feb;19(1):52-5.
Chu CM, Acholonu UC Jr, Chang-Jackson SC, Nezhat FR. Leiomyoma recurrent at the cervical stump: report of two cases. J Minim Invasive Gynecol 2012 Jan-Feb;19(1):131-3.
Chiara Ghetti, MD, MS
Ghetti C, Skoczylas L, Oliphant S, Nikolajski C, Lowder JL. The Emotional Burden of Pelvic Organ Prolapse in Women Seeking Treatment. Female Pelvic Medicine & Reconstructive Surgery. In press.
Ghetti C, Lee M, Oliphant S, Okun M, Lowder JL. Sleep quality in women seeking care for pelvic organ prolapse. Maturitas. 2015 Feb;80(2):155-61. Epub 2014 Nov 6. PubMed PMID: 25465518; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4307380.
Oliphant SS, Lowder JL, Lee MJ, Ghetti C. Most older women recover baseline functional status following pelvic organ prolapse surgery. International Urogynecology Journal. 2014 Apr 30. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 24781347.
Lowder JL, Ghetti C, Switzer GE. Reply to Letter to the Editor (E14-017AR1) “Body image for pelvic organ prolapse – a new important questionnaire has come” – Reply. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2014 Apr 8.[Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 24727106.
Lowder JL, Ghetti C, Oliphant SS, Skoczylas LC, Swift S, Switzer GE. Body Image in the Pelvic Organ Prolapse Questionnaire: development and validation. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2014 Mar 12 [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 24631437.
Hess R, Huang A, Richter HE, Ghetti C, Sung VW, Barrett-Connor E, Gregory T, Pinkerton JV, Bradley CS, Kraus SR, Rogers RG, Subak LL, Johnson KC, Arya LA, Schembri M, Brown JS. Long-term Efficacy and Safety of Questionnaire-based Initiation of Urgency Urinary Incontinence Treatment. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 209(3): September 2013. PMID: 23659987
Brubaker, L, Rickey L, Dyer K, Markland AD, Sirls Norton LP, Casiano E, Paraiso MFR, Ghetti C, Rahn DD, Litman H, Kusek JW Surgical preparation: are patients “ready” for stress urinary incontinence surgery? International Urogynecology Journal. January 2014. Epub.August 2013. PMID: 23912506
Oliphant S, Ghetti C, McGough R, Wang L, Bunker CH, Lowder JL. Inpatient procedures in elderly women: An analysis over time. Maturitas. 2013 Aug;75(4):349-54. PMID: 23707727
Oliphant S, Lowder JL, Ghetti C, Zyczynski H. The effect of preoperative viewing of a CISC instructional video on anxiety and satisfaction in women undergoing POP and SUI surgery: a Randomized Controlled Trial. Int Urogynecol J. 2012 July 3[Epub ahead of print].
Lowder JL, Ghetti C, Nikolajski C, Oliphant S, Zyczynski H. Body image perceptions in women with pelvic organ prolapse: a qualitative study. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 204: 2011.
Richter H, Albo M, Zyczynski H, Kenton K, Norton P, Sirls L, Kraus S, Chai T, Lemack G, Dandreon K, Varner R, Meneffee S, Ghetti C, Brubaker L, et al. Trial of Midurethral Slings (TOMUS): A Randomized Controlled Trial of Retropubic Versus Transobturator Midurethral Slings for Stress Incontinence. NEJM. 2010 June. 362: 2066-2076.
Lowder JL, Ghetti C, Oliphant S, Moalli P, Zyczynski H. Normative data for commonly used validated pelvic floor disorder questionnaires in women. Female Pelvic Medicine & Reconstructive Surgery. 2010.16: 296-298.
Lowder JL, Ghetti C, Moalli P, Zyczynski H, Cash J. Body Image in Women Before and After Reconstructive Surgery for Pelvic Organ Prolapse. Int Urogynecol J Pelvic Floor Dysfunct. 2010 May 4. 2010 May 4.
Ghetti C, Lowder JL, Ellison R, Krohn MA, Moalli P. Depressive symptoms in women seeking surgery for pelvic organ prolapse. Int Urogynecol J Pelvic Floor Dysfunct. 2010 Mar 24.
Lowder JL, Frankman EA, Ghetti CG, Burrows LJ, Krohn MA, Moalli PA, Zyczynski H. Lower urinary tract symptoms in women with pelvic organ prolapse. Int Urogynecol J Pelvic Floor Dysfunct. 2010 Jan 14.
Brubaker L, Rickey L, Stoddard A, Lemack G, Xu Y, Ghetti C, Kahn M, Markland A, Nagaraju P, and Norton P, for the Urinary Incontinence Treatment Network. Symptoms of Combined Prolapse and Urinary Incontinence in Large Surgical Cohorts. Obstet Gynecol. 2010 Feb;115(2 Pt 1):310-6.
Lowder J, Oliphant S, Ghetti C, Burrows L, Meyn,L, Balk J. Prophylactic bilateral oophorectomy or removal of remaining ovary at the time of hysterectomy in the United States, 1979 – 2004. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2010 Jan 6.
Ghetti C, Chang J, Gosman G. Burnout, Psychological Skills and Empathy: Balint training in Obstetrics and Gynecology residents. In press. Journal of Graduate Medical Education. Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 231-235, December 2009.
Frankman E, Lowder J, Ghetti C, Burrows LJ, Krohn MA, Zyczynski H. Bowel Symptoms Affect Quality of Life in Women with Pelvic Organ Prolapse. Journal of Pelvic Medicine & Surgery. 15(4):211-216, July/August 2009.
Handa VL, Nygaard I, Kenton K, Cundiff GW, Ghetti C, Ye W, Richter HE, for the Pelvic Floor Disorders Network. Pelvic organ support among primiparous women in the first year after childbirth. Int Urogynecol J Pelvic Floor Dysfunct. 2009 Sept 24.
Tennstedt S. L., Litman H, Zimmern P, Ghetti C, Kusek JW, Mueller ER, Kraus SR, Nager CW, Varner E. for the Urinary Incontinence Treatment Network. Quality of Life after Surgery for Stress Incontinence. Int Urogynecol J Pelvic Floor Dysfunct. 2008 Dec;19(12):1631-8.Aug 6.
Brubaker L, Nygaard I, Richter H, Visco A, Weber A, Cundiff GW, Fine P, Ghetti C, Brown MB for the Pelvic Floor Disorders Network. Two-year Outcomes After Sacrocolpopexy With and Without Burch to Prevent Stress Urinary Incontinence: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2008 Jul; 112 (1): pp. 49-55.
Mueller ER, Wei J, Nygaard I, Brubaker L, Varner E. Visco A. Cundiff G, Weber A, Ghetti C, Kreder, Weber A for the Pelvic Floor Disorders Network. The Correlation of Voiding Variables between non-instrumented uroflowmetry and pressure-flow Studies in Women with Pelvic Organ Prolapse. NeuroUrology. 2008;27(6):515-21.
Lowder JL, Park A, Ellison R, Ghetti C, Moalli P, Zyczynski H, Weber A. The role of apical vaginal support in prolapse. Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2008 Jan; 111(1):152-157.
Bradley CS, Nygaard I, Brown MB, Ghetti C, Gutman RE, Kenton KS, Whitehead WE, Goode PS, Wren PA, Weber AM for the Pelvic Floor Disorders Network. Bowel Symptoms in women One Year after Sacrocolpopexy. AJOG. 2007 Dec;197(6):642.e1-8.
Ghetti C, Gregory WT, Clark AL. Risk Factors for Surgically Managed Pelvic Organ Prolapse and Urinary Incontinence. International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics. Int J Gynaecol Obstet. 2007 Jul;98(1):63-4.
Fitzgerald MP, Janz N, Wren P, Wei, Weber J AM, Ghetti C, Cundiff G for the Pelvic Floor Disorders Network.: Prolapse severity, symptoms and impact on quality of life among women Planning sacrocolpopexy. Int J Gynaecol Obstet. 2007 Jul;98(1):24-8.
Ghetti C. “The Ob-Gyn Doctor Patient Relationship: What it Means to Me.” Obstetrics and Gynecology 2007 May; 109 (5):pg 1225.
Ghetti C, Gregory WT, Edwards SR, Clark AL. Severity of Pelvic Organ Prolapse is Associated with measurements of Genital Hiatus. Int Urogynecol J Pelvic Floor Dysfunct. 2005 Nov- Dec;16(6):432-6.
Ghetti C, Gregory WT, Edwards SR, Clark AL. Pelvic Organ Descent and the Perception of Prolapse. American Journal Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2005 Jul; 193(1):53-7.
Ghetti C, Guise JM. Responses of Portland Obstetricians to Patient Requested Cesarean Delivery. Birth. 2004 Dec;31(4):280-4.
Edgecomb, RS, Ghetti, C., Schneiderman, AM. Bendless alters thoracic musculature in Drosophila. Journal of Neurogenetics 8:201-219, 1993.
Jerry L. Lowder, MD, MS
Ghetti C, Lee M, Oliphant S, Okun M, Lowder JL. Sleep quality in women seeking care for pelvic organ prolapse. Maturitas. (Epub ahead of print) 2014 Nov 6. 2015 Feb;80(2):155-61. PMID: 25465518.
Oliphant SS, Lowder JL, Lee MJ Ghetti C. Most older women recover baseline functional status following pelvic organ prolapse surgery. Int Urogynecol J. Apr 30 (Epub ahead of print).
Kantartzis K, Turner LC, Shepherd JP, Winger D, Wang L, Lowder JL. “Apical support at the time of hysterectomy for uterovaginal prolapse.” Int Urogynecol J. Accepted with revisions 4-27-2014.
Turner LC, Kantartzis K, Lowder JL, Shepherd JP. “The effect of age on complications in women undergoing minimally invasive sacral colpopexy.” Int Urogynecol J. 2014 Sept:25(9):1251-1256.
Sung VW, Rogers RG, Bann CM, Arya L, Barber MD, Lowder J, Lukacz ES, Markland A, Siddiqui N, Wilmot A, Meikle SF; Pelvic Floor Disorders Network. Symptom outcomes important to women with anal incontinence: a conceptual framework. Obstet Gynecol. 2014 May;123(5):1023-30. PMID: 24785855
Lowder JL, Ghetti C, Oliphant SS, Skoczylas LC, Swift S, Switzer GE. “Body Image in Pelvic Organ Prolapse (BIPOP) Questionnaire: Development and Validation” Am J Obstet Gynecol (2014), doi: 10.1016/ajog.2014.03.019 (published online 3/3/2014). Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2014 Mar 12 [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 24631437
Bradley M, Kantartzis K, Lowder JL, Winger D, Wang L, Shepherd JP. “Adoption of robotic sacrocolpopexy at an academic institution.” J Soc Lap Surg. 2014 Jul;18(3). PMID: 25392622.
Lemack GE, Litman HJ, Nager C, Brubaker L, Lowder J, Norton P, Sirls L, Lloyd K, Kusek JW; Urinary Incontinence Treatment Network. “Preoperative clinical, demographic, and urodynamic measures associated with failure to demonstrate urodynamic stress incontinence in women enrolled in two randomized clinical trials of surgery for stress urinary incontinence.” Int Urogynecol J. 2013 Feb;24(2):269-74. PMID: 22669421
Turner LC, Beigi R, Shepherd JP, Lowder JL. “The utility of dipstick urinalysis in peri- and post-menopausal women with irritative bladder symptoms.” Int Urogynecol J. 2013 Oct 30. Epub. PMID: 24170224.
Norton P, Nager C, Lemack G, Chai T, Mueller E, Stoddard A, Varner E, Lowder J, Kusak J. “Risk factors for incomplete bladder emptying after midurethral sling” Urology 2013 Nov;82(5):1038-41. PMID: 24358480.
Oliphant SS, Ghetti C, McGough RL, Wang L, Bunker CH, Lowder JL. “Inpatient procedures in elderly women: An analysis over time” Maturitas 2013 Aug;75(4):349-54. PMID: 23707727.
Shepherd JP, Guido R, Lowder JL. “Should endocervical curettage routinely be performed at time of colposcopy? A cost-effectiveness analysis” J Low Genit Tract Dis. 2013. Nov 21. PMID: 24270197.
Turner LC, Shepherd JP, Wang L, Bunker CH, Lowder JL. Hysterectomy surgery trends: a more accurate depiction of the last decade? Am J Obstet Gynecol 2013 Apr;208(4):277:e1-7. PMID: 23333543.
Visco AG, Brubaker L, Richter HE, Nygaard I, Paraiso MFR, Menefee SA, Schaffer J, Lowder J, Khandwala S, Sirls L, Spino C, Nolen TL, Wallace D, Meikle SF, for the Pelvic Floor Disorders Network. “Anticholinergic Therapy vs. OnabotulinumtoxinA for Urgency Urinary Incontinence” N Engl J Med.2012 Nov 8;367(19):1803-13. Published online October 4, 2012. PMID: 23036134.
Oliphant SS, Lowder JL, Ghetti C, Zyczynski HM. Effect of a Pre-Operative Self-catheterization Video on Anxiety: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Accepted by Int Urogynecol J – June 2012. In Press.
Oliphant SS, Shepherd JP, Lowder JL. Midurethral sling for treatment of occult stress urinary incontinence at the time of colpocleisis: A decision analysis. Accepted by Female Pelvic Med Reconstr Surg. May 2012. In Press.
Skoczylas LC, Shepherd JP, Smith KJ, Lowder JL. Managing mesh exposure following vaginal prolapse repair: a decision analysis comparing conservative versus surgical treatment. Accepted by Int Urogynecol J – May 2012. In Press.
CW, Brubaker L, Litman HJ, Zyczynski HM, Varner RE, Amundsen C, Sirls LT, Norton PA, Arisco AM, Nager Chai TC, Zimmern P, Barber MD, Dandreo KJ, Menefee SA, Kenton K, Lowder J, Richter HE, Khandwala S, Nygaard I, Kraus SR, Johnson HW, Lemack G, Mihova M, Albo ME, Mueller E, Sutkin G,Wilson TS, Hsu Y,Rozanski TA, Rickey LM, Rahn D, Tennstedt S, Kusek JW, Gormley A, for the Urinary Incontinence Treatment Network. “A Randonized Trial of Urodynamic Tests Before Stress Incontinence Surgery.” N Engl J Med. (Accepted for publication February 15, 2012)
Brubaker L, Norton PA, Albo ME, Chai TC, Dandreo KJ, Lloyd KL, Lowder JL, Sirls LT, Lemack GE, Arisco AM, Xu Y, Kusek JW, for UITN. “Adverse events over two years after retropubic or transobturator midurethral ling surgery: findings from the Trial of Midurethral Slings (TOMUS) study.” Am J Obster Gynecol 2011;205:498.e1-6.
Sanses TV, Brubaker L, Xu Y, Kraus SR, Lowder JL, Lemack GE, Norton P, Litman HJ, Tennstedt SL, Chai TC. “Preoperative hesitating urinary stream is associated with postoperative voiding dysfunction and surgical failure following Burch colposuspension or pubovaginal recuts fascial sling surgery.” Int Urgynecol J Pelvic Floor Dysfunct. 22(6):713-719 June 2011.
Lowder JL, Ghetti C, Nikolajski C, Oliphant SS, Zyczynski H. “Body Image Perceptions in Women with Pelvic Organ Prolapse: A Qualitative Study.” Am J Obstet Gynecol Epub 2011 Feb 1.
Oliphant SS, Jones KA, Wang L, Bunker CH, Lowder JL. “Trends Over Time with Commonly Performed Obstetric and Gynecologic Inpatient Procedures” Obstet & Gynecol 2010;116:926-31.
Daucher JA, Ellison RE, Lowder JL. “Pelvic Support and Urinary Function Improve in Women after Surgically Induced Weight Reduction.” J Pelvic Med Surg. 16(5):263-267, September/October 2010.
Lowder JL, Ghetti C, Oliphant SS, Moalli PA, Zyczynski HM. “Normative data for commonly used validated pelvic floor disorder questionnaires in women.” J Pelvic Med Surg 16(5):296-298, September/October 2010.
Lowder JL, Ghetti C, Moalli P, Zyczynski H, Cash TF. “Body Image in Women Before and After Reconstructive Surgery for Pelvic Organ Prolapse.” Int Urogynecol J Pelvic Floor Dysfunct. 2010; 21:919-925.
Ghetti C, Lowder JL, Ellison R, Krohn MA, Moalli P. “Depressive symptoms in women seeking surgery for pelvic organ prolapse.” Int Urogynecol J Pelvic Floor Dysfunct. 2010 Jul;21(7):855-60.
Shepherd JP, Lowder JL, Smith KJ. “Retropubic and transobturator midurethral slings for stress urinary incontinence: A decision analysis to compare outcomes including efficacy and complications” Int Urogynecol J Pelvic Floor Dysfunct. 2010 Jul;21(7):787-93.
Lowder JL, Frankman E, Burrows LJ, Ghetti C, Krohn MA, Moalli PA, Zyczynski HM. “Lower urinary tract symptoms in women with pelvic organ prolapse.” Int Urogynecol J Pelvic Floor Dysfunct. 2010 Jun;21(6):665-72. .
Jones KA, Shepherd J, Oliphant SS, Wang L, Bunker CH, Lowder JL. “Procedures for Pelvic organ prolapse in the United States, 1979-2006.” Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2010 May;202(5):501.e1-7.
Frankman EA, Wang L, Bunker CB, Lowder JL. “Lower Urinary Tract Injury in the United States, 1979-2006.” Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2010 May;.202(5):495.e1-5.