Polypropylene mesh used for adjuvant reconstructive surgical treatment of advanced pelvic organ prolapse

The efficacy and complications of using transvaginal mesh to treat pelvic organ prolapse in Taiwan: A 10-year review

Transvaginal mesh (TVM) insertion for the treatment of pelvic organ prolapse (POP) is significantly associated with lower failure rates, although its use remains controversial due to the potential risk of mesh-related complications. In this review, we collected the published literature regarding the use of TVM to treat POP in an attempt to assess both the efficacy and complications related to TVM usage in Taiwan. We searched 25 English language articles using PubMed related to TVM in Taiwan from 2010 to 2019. The present article focuses on the efficacy and complications of TVM and analyzes the data. There were 25 studies on TVM selected for this review. Regarding their success rate, 21 out of the 22 studies (95.5%) had more than a 90% objective success rate. Twenty studies (90.9%) had less than 10% major complications of TVM. Twenty out of the 25 studies (80.0%) had 5% or less mesh exposure. For self-cut TVM and the later single-incision TVM, both the complication rates and exposure rates decreased. The rate of de novo dyspareunia ranged from 2.6% to 14.3%, and the incidence decreased yearly from 2011 to 2019. This review showed both the high treatment efficacy and low complication rate of TVM usage for the short-term treatment of POP in Taiwan. However, a longer-term study is needed to draw a conclusion regarding the safety of this treatment.

Self-perceived quality of life after pelvic organ prolapse reconstructive mesh surgery: prospective study

OBJECTIVE

To assess the self-perceived quality of life in women with advanced pelvic organ prolapse before and after mesh surgery.

STUDY DESIGN

Women with symptomatic pelvic organ prolapse (stage III-IV according to pelvic organ prolapse quantification (POP-Q)) were invited to participate in the study. All enrolled patients underwent prolapse surgery using the transvaginal mesh technique. Success was defined as ICS POP-Q stage 0 and I. The SF36v2 questionnaire was used as a subjective outcome measure.

RESULTS

113 patients were available for follow-up at 6-8 weeks and 16-18 months. Overall anatomic success rates were 87.6%. Statistically significant improvements in the self-perceived quality-of-life were found in 3 individual domains (general health (GH), vitality (V) and mental health (MH)) and in one summary domain (MCS) at 6-8 weeks post-op. In one individual and one summary domain (role - physical (RP) and physical component summary (PCS)) the scores were significantly lower. At the end of the study statistically significant improvement was observed in four out of eight individual domains (vitality (V), menthal health (MH), physical functioning (PF), social functioning (SF)) as well as in both summary scores (PCS and MCS).

CONCLUSIONS

Reconstructive mesh surgery improved significantly various self-perceived quality of life dimensions. Therefore, women should expect significant improvement in their general quality of life after this type of operation. The assessment of urogenital well-being should be a routine attitude when counseling menopausal women.