Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2016 Jun;127(6):1071-1079.
doi: 10.1097/AOG.0000000000001442.

Quality of Life and Sexual Function 2 Years After Vaginal Surgery for Prolapse

Emily S Lukacz  1 , Lauren Klein Warren, Holly E Richter, Linda Brubaker, Matthew D Barber, Peggy Norton, Alison C Weidner, John N Nguyen, Marie G Gantz
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Quality of Life and Sexual Function 2 Years After Vaginal Surgery for Prolapse

Emily S Lukacz et al. Obstet Gynecol. 2016 Jun.

Erratum in

Abstract

Objective: To longitudinally assess the effect of native tissue vaginal apical prolapse repair with anti-incontinence surgery on quality of life, sexual function, and body image between uterosacral and sacrospinous suspensions.

Methods: A planned secondary analysis was performed on 374 women enrolled in a randomized trial of the two types of native tissue repair for apical prolapse. Condition-specific and generic quality of life, sexual function, overall and de novo dyspareunia, and body image were assessed using validated instruments at baseline; 6, 12, and 24 months postoperatively; and changes from baseline were assessed and compared between surgical groups. General linear mixed models were used for comparisons and clinically significant differences were assessed using minimum important differences.

Results: Of the women randomized, 82% had outcomes available at 2 years. Overall, clinically and statistically significant improvements in generic and condition-specific quality of life and sexual function were observed after surgery. Dyspareunia rates decreased from 25% to 16% by 24 months with only 3% of all women undergoing treatment. De novo dyspareunia occurred in 5% and 10% by 12 and 24 months, respectively. Body image scores also significantly improved from baseline. There were no clinically meaningful or statistically significant differences between groups for any of these outcomes (all P>.05).

Conclusion: Native tissue vaginal prolapse surgery results in statistically and clinically significant improvements in quality of life, sexual function, and body image at 24 months with no significant differences between uterosacral and sacrospinous suspensions. One in 10 women experience de novo dyspareunia but few requested treatment.

Clinical trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, www.clinicaltrials.gov, NCT00597935.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The other authors did not report any potential conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Changes in Pelvic Floor Distress Inventory (A) and Pelvic Floor Impact Questionnaire (B) subscale scores following prolapse surgery. *P<.01 from baseline.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Lawrence JM, Lukacz ES, Nager CW, Hsu JW, Luber KM. Prevalence and co-occurrence of pelvic floor disorders in community-dwelling women. Obstet Gynecol. 2008;111(3):678–85. - PubMed
    1. Nygaard I, Barber MD, Burgio KL, Kenton K, Meikle S, Schaffer J, et al. Prevalence of symptomatic pelvic floor disorders in US women. JAMA. 2008;300(11):1311–6. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Athanasiou S, Grigoriadis T, Chalabalaki A, Protopapas A, Antsaklis A. Pelvic organ prolapse contributes to sexual dysfunction: a cross-sectional study. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 2012;91(6):704–9. - PubMed
    1. Lowenstein L, Gamble T, Sanses TV, van Raalte H, Carberry C, Jakus S, et al. Sexual function is related to body image perception in women with pelvic organ prolapse. J Sex Med. 2009;6(8):2286–91. - PubMed
    1. Wu JM, Matthews CA, Conover MM, Pate V, Jonsson Funk M. Lifetime risk of stress urinary incontinence or pelvic organ prolapse surgery. Obstet Gynecol. 2014;123(6):1201–6. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

Associated data