Generally, most women are not aware of the presence of mild prolapse. As with any illness, prevention is better than treatment. This means appropriate antenatal and intrapartum care and regular postnatal pelvic floor exercises to reduce the risk of childbirth damage. In postmenopausal women, oestrogen cream helps maintain tissue strength. Where prolapse is severe, symptoms are troublesome and conservative treatment has failed, surgery is the next option.
Vaginal surgery is the usual method of repair.
Abdominal surgery, on the other hand, is usually performed when there is urinary stress incontinence or when vaginal surgery has failed. The choice of technique will generally depend upon the type, the severity of the prolapse and the surgeon s experience. Examples include prolapse of the vaginal vault, enterocoele and paravaginal cystocoele. This is attached to a camera-television setup, giving the surgeons a magnified view of the pelvic floor. Via three keyhole incisions in the abdomen, the surgeons use specially designed instruments to lift and attach the prolapsed organs back to the ligament and muscle support with many non-absorbable sutures.