Prolapse No Longer Means a Lapse in Your Life
‘Prolapse’ is a term that for many women is associated with embarrassment or shame. With no good reason, as the term prolapse simply means “falling” and is more common than most patients think. In fact, more than 120,000 women have surgery for uterine and vaginal vault prolapse each year in the United States. Prolapse of any pelvic floor organs (vagina, uterus, bladder or rectum) occurs when the connective tissues or muscles in the body cavity are too weak hold the pelvis in its natural position.
This weakening of tissues has a number of causes and accelerates with age, after childbirth, with weight gain and strenuous physical labor. All of these are perfectly normal conditions that, in the past, women had no choice but to endure. Women with pelvic organ prolapse typically have problems with urinary incontinence, vaginal ulceration, sexual dysfunction and/or having a bowel movement. Advances in minimally invasive robotic surgery offer long overdue relief. Thanks to the da Vinci® Sacrocolpopexy, patients no longer have to suffer from prolapse in silence.
Prolapse no longer means a lapse in your life
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.
If your doctor recommends sacrocolpopexy, you may be a candidate for a new surgical procedure called da Vinci® Sacrocolpopexy. This procedure uses a state-of-the-art surgical system designed to help your surgeon perform a minimally invasive surgery through small incisions.
For most women, da Vinci® 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
As with any surgery, these benefits cannot be guaranteed since surgery is specific to each patient- and procedure.