Uterovaginal prolapse is defined as the pathological state when the uterine supports give way, usually in the latter years of life and cause the uterus (womb) to protrude out of the body, or in other words the uterus gets prolapsed.
It is termed as the uterovaginal prolapse when it increases in intensity to an extent that it pulls the vagina along with it.
The uterus has been provided by the nature with a lot of support.
However these supportive mechanisms might fail when excessive tug is applied for one reason or the other, most importantly by difficult deliveries and multiple pregnancies.
Symptoms of uterine prolapse: The first symptom to develop uterine prolapse is a feeling of discomfort or heaviness in the pelvic area.
This symptom is of a gradual onset usually, but can be sudden too in some cases.
It can also present with the symptoms of pelvic or lower abdominal pain.
However another common symptom would be a protrusion of tissue from the vaginal orifice.
This may not cause any discomfort initially when only a small part is protruded but as the disease progresses, it is a reason for significant annoying heaviness.
Frequent urinary tract symptoms make up a good portion of the disease symptomotology.
Recurrent infections, urinary frequency, urgency and incontinence are almost inevitable to develop.
The patient might also present with the complaints of constipation and/or painful intercourse.
Surgical options: The successful treatment options usually are surgical.
A few non-surgical options are also available but they do not offer promising result and so do not obviate the need of a surgery.
Hysterectomy is the major option and it means removal of the uterus.
There are further two ways of doing it, either through an abdominal approach or a vaginal one.
This usually involves the placement of a pelvic organ mesh to prevent recurrence.
Hysteropexy is a procedure in which only the supports are strengthened to make them hold the uterine structures efficiently.
Complications of the uterine prolapse surgery: As no surgical procedure is without any complications, this surgery also has adverse effects related in general to the surgery and specifically to the particular procedure employed.
1.
Vaginal Infection is one of the commonest complications of the uterine prolapse surgery.
The suture site might get infected due to neglected hygiene.
This will manifest as fever and a pussy discharge from the sutures.
It should always be taken seriously.
2.
Suture disruption is the term employed when the sutures give way.
The surface suture disruption might burst open the abdomen if surgery has been done through this route.
This is a serious complication and requires resuturing.
3.
Vault prolapse is the prolapse of the vaginal stump that has been left inside and sutured to the surrounding bony structures.
If the internal sutures haven't been placed properly the vault may get prolapsed necessitating the need to open the patient again.
4.
Urinary incontinence is a well known side effect of the prolapse surgery.
This is when the bladder structures have been affected by the removal of uterus.
It is a particularly irritating and embarrassing phenomenon especially when in public.
The patient can hardly ever control the urge to urinate.
5.
Early menopause in women occurs even when the ovaries have been left behind intact.
This is because of the fact that there is no estrogen stimulation of the uterus anymore.
This leads to menopause related symptoms of cardiovascular and osteoporotic complications.