Uterine or Vaginal Prolapse

Prolapse (or falling) of a pelvic floor organ, such as the vagina or uterus, occurs when the connective tissues or muscles within the body cavity are weak and unable to hold the pelvis in its natural orientation.

The weakening of connective tissues accelerates with age, after childbirth, with weight gain and strenuous physical labor. Women experiencing pelvic organ prolapse typically have problems with urinary incontinence, vaginal ulceration, sexual dysfunction and/or having a bowel movement.

Traditional Treatment for Uterine and Vaginal Prolapse

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 Fletcher Allen, sacrocolpopexy has traditionally been performed as an open surgery, involving a 15-30 cm horizontal incision.

Fletcher Allen now offers sacrocolpopexy using robotic-assisted surgery, a procedure which allows our surgeons perform a minimally invasive surgery through small incisions, usually 1-2 inches.

Benefits to Robotic-Assisted Sacrocolpopexy

For most women, robotic-assisted sacrocolpopexy offers numerous potential benefits over a traditional open approach:

• 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

Contact a Fletcher Allen Gynecologic Surgeon

To find out if you are a potential candidate for robotic-assisted sacrocolpopexy, please download our candidacy questionnaire. Or, talk to a da Vinci-trained Fletcher Allen gynecologic surgeon.

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