[Prolapse surgery]

Abstract

Operative cystocele/rectocele management and prolapse surgery have become increasingly important domains of urogynecologic surgery. The risk of prolapse surgery in women lies at around 11% today and one-third of these are reoperations. There are currently three competing operative procedures: (1) the transvaginal approach with a vaginae fixatio sacrospinalis vaginalis or sacrotuberalis, (2) transabdominal pelvic sacrocolpopexy, and (3) transabdominal laparoscopic sacrocolpopexy.We compared efficacy, reoperation rates, and complication rates in abdominal sacrocolpopexy to those found with the transvaginal or laparoscopic surgical approaches, by reviewing the literature of the last 10 years, including 1995, in an online search. Analysis of the accumulated data made it clear, moreover, that randomized, prospective studies on the three different operative procedures are missing; these are mandatory, however, to enable exact and objective assessment of efficacy, long-term results, and complication rates.