Up to half of all women will experience some degree of pelvic organ prolapse during their lifetime. This condition can cause incontinence, constipation, and descent of the bladder and uterus into the vagina. Severe pressure and chronic pain can be debilitating.
A new study from Orlando Health reveals that one in three women quietly suffers from common misconceptions about pelvic prolapse.
- half (50%) do not know that incontinence (urinary leakage) is not just a normal part of aging that women have to endure.
- 30% Consider that pelvic prolapse only occurs if you are pregnant.
- 31% Pelvic prolapse is thought to only occur in postmenopausal women or women over the age of 60.
- one third (30%) I don’t know that surgery is an option to fix pelvic prolapse.
This is more common as you get older. Approximately 1 in 3 women of childbearing age have a prolapsed uterus. By the age of 80, perhaps half of women will have a prolapsed uterus. The pelvic floor is like a cage of muscles. I tell my patients that prolapse feels like a tampon falling off, like the roof of the vagina falling off. Pregnancy is a more common cause of pelvic floor weakness. There is also a genetic component. ”
Nyarai Mushonga, MD, double board certified urologist and pelvic reconstructive surgeon at Florida Medical Clinic Orlando Health
Dr Mushonga said he offers non-surgical and surgical treatments to his patients, but insists on surgery if the prolapse prevents the person from peeing or pooping normally, as those problems can lead to further complications such as kidney damage. Dr. Mushonga uses a minimally invasive pelvic reconstruction technique that secures the pelvic floor in place with sutures and a mesh sling.
“If a patient has a uterus, the first step is to remove it. Many patients think that a hysterectomy actually cures a prolapsed uterus, but that is not the case,” Dr. Mushonga said. “The restructuring that we do actually solves the problem.”
