Once your doctor has made a diagnosis—determining the location and extent of the prolapsed organ—he works closely with you to create a treatment plan that fits your unique needs, lifestyle and treatment preferences.

Your pelvic prolapse treatment may include one or more of the following options:

Pelvic Floor Exercises (such as Kegels)

For the least severe cases, simple exercises and lifestyle modifications may be enough to reduce symptoms and improve quality of life. Pelvic floor exercises strengthen the muscles in the area and may help return the prolapsed organ to a better position. Often physical therapists are involved in developing exercises to address specific areas of laxity.

Hormone Replacement Therapy

Hormone replacement drugs may help strengthen the vaginal tissue. This treatment may be recommended in conjunction with pelvic floor exercises and lifestyle modification.

Pessary (pronounced PES-uh-re)

Your doctor may prescribe a pessary if you have incontinence due to a dropped (prolapsed) bladder or uterus. This is a stiff ring that you insert into your vagina and wear all day. The device helps hold up your bladder to prevent urine leakage. This is a non-surgical option to address pelvic prolapsed.

Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery

For cases that are most severe, surgery is recommended. The type of surgery performed is based on the organs affected. The team at Advanced Urology use leading-edge techniques to restore the pelvic organs to a normal location. Often, several defects can be corrected during the same surgical setting. Reconstructive pelvic surgery options includes:

• Cystocele: Repair of the bladder
• Urethrocele: Repair of the urethra
• Rectocele: Repair of the rectum
• Enterocele: Repair of the small bowel
• Vaginal Vault Suspension: Repair of the vaginal wall (also called Sarcrolpopexy, see below)
• Vaginal Obliteration: Closure of the vagina
• Hysterectomy: Removal of the uterus itself may be indicated if the prolapse is severe enough and this option is feasible for the patient.

Robotic Sacrocolpopexy

Sacrocolpopexy is a procedure to surgically correct vaginal vault prolapse where mesh is used to hold the vagina in the correct anatomical position. This procedure can also be performed following a hysterectomy to treat uterine prolapse to provide long-term support of the vagina.

At Advanced Urology, we offer the da Vinci Sacrocolpopexy. This minimally invasive, robotic technique offers our patients many benefits over traditional open surgery:

• Significantly less pain
• Less blood loss and need for transfusions
• Less risk of infection
• Less scarring
• Shorter hospital stay
• Shorter recovery time
• Quicker return to normal activities

Hysterectomy & Sacrocolpopexy

Advanced Urology’s board-certified urologist Michael Glass, M.D., works with Denver-area OB/GYNs who perform robot-assisted hysterectomies. Just after the obstetrician/gynecologist has completed the hysterectomy, Dr. Glass uses the da Vinci® robotic system to perform the sacrocolpopexy.

>>Learn More about Minimally Invasive, Robotic Hysterectomy & Sacrocolpopexy

>>Next: Questions To Ask Your Doctor About Pelvic Prolapse