Women and Infants News

Dr. Vivian Sung Receives Two Awards for Incontinence Research

Written by Care New England | September 10, 2020

Release Date: 10/29/2018

Vivian Sung, MD, MPH, FACOG, of the Division of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery at Women & Infants Hospital and a member of the Care New England Medical Group was recently presented with two awards for research she is leading for the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development’s (NICHD) Pelvic Floor Disorders Network.

At last week’s American Urogynecologic Society (AUGS) Annual Meeting, Dr. Sung won Best Clinical Paper for the study "The ESTEEM Trial: A Randomized Trial Comparing Combined Midurethral Sling and Behavioral/Pelvic Floor Therapy to Midurethral Sling Alone for Mixed Urinary Incontinence." In August, she received the International Continence Society Best Abstract Award for the same research.

The ESTEEM Study supports midurethral slings as a highly effective treatment for mixed urinary incontinence with low rates of worsening urgency incontinence. The addition of behavioral and pelvic floor therapy to surgery can further improve certain outcomes. Women & Infants Hospital was a top recruiter for this trial.

Dr. Sung is professor at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and a member of the active staff at Women & Infants Hospital. She is a graduate of Tufts University School of Medicine and completed a residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Magee-Women's Hospital. Following residency, Dr. Sung completed a dual fellowship in urogynecology and reconstructive pelvic surgery and epidemiology and clinical trials at Women & Infants Hospital.

She is an active researcher and serves as the director of research for the Division of Urogynecology. Dr. Sung achieved certification in Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery (FPMRS) by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ABOG). She is a fellow of the American Gynecological & Obstetrical Society (AGOS) and is past president of the Society for Gynecologic Surgeons.

Dr. Sung balances non-surgical, surgical, and minimally-invasive options for the management of pelvic organ prolapse, urinary incontinence, and fecal incontinence. She has a particular interest in the critical evaluation and translation of new and existing clinical practices for pelvic floor disorders. Dr. Sung is committed to advancing the field of urogynecology and improving patient care through rigorous and patient-centered research.

 

About Women & Infants Hospital 

Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island, a Care New England hospital, is one of the nation’s leading specialty hospitals for women and newborns. A major teaching affiliate of The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University for obstetrics, gynecology and newborn pediatrics, as well as a number of specialized programs in women’s medicine, Women & Infants is the 9th largest stand-alone obstetrical service in the country and the largest in New England with approximately 8,500 deliveries per year. A Designated Baby-Friendly® USA hospital, U.S.News & World Report 2014-15 Best Children’s Hospital in Neonatology and a 2014 Leapfrog Top Hospital, in 2009 Women & Infants opened what was at the time the country’s largest, single-family room neonatal intensive care unit.

Women & Infants and Brown offer fellowship programs in gynecologic oncology, maternal-fetal medicine, urogynecology and reconstructive pelvic surgery, neonatal-perinatal medicine, pediatric and perinatal pathology, gynecologic pathology and cytopathology, and reproductive endocrinology and infertility. It is home to the nation’s first mother-baby perinatal psychiatric partial hospital, as well as the nation’s only fellowship program in obstetric medicine.

Women & Infants has been designated as a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence by the American College of Radiography; a Center of Excellence in Minimally Invasive Gynecology; a Center of Biomedical Research Excellence by the National Institutes of Health (NIH); and a Neonatal Resource Services Center of Excellence. It is one of the largest and most prestigious research facilities in high risk and normal obstetrics, gynecology and newborn pediatrics in the nation, and is a member of the National Cancer Institute’s Gynecologic Oncology Group and the Pelvic Floor Disorders Network.