Pelvic organ prolapse recurrence in young women undergoing vaginal and abdominal colpopexy.

introduction and hypothesisWhile pelvic organ prolapse (POP) recurrence is believed to increase over time, outcomes of young women who undergo POP surgery are unclear. We hypothesized POP recurrence incidence among women <49 years would be higher after vaginal versus abdominal colpopexy.

methodsThis is a retrospective cohort study with a cross-sectional survey of women 18-49 years who underwent primary POP surgery from January 2003 to September 2013. Patients were identified by CPT codes for vaginal and abdominal colpopexy. POP recurrence was defined as vaginal bulge symptoms, POP retreatment (pessary or surgery) or both. Validated questionnaires were used to assess pelvic floor symptoms, patient satisfaction and improvement.

resultsThree hundred thirty-three women met the criteria. Mean age was 43 (+ 5.3) years; 29.1% (97) had an abdominal colpopexy and 70.9% (236) had a vaginal colpopexy. The recurrence incidence overall was 32.0% (31) in the abdominal group and 24.2% (57) in the vaginal group (p = 0.15), with a 10.3% (10) retreatment incidence in the abdominal group and 5.9% (14) in the vaginal group (p = 0.16). Forty-five percent (149) responded to the survey at a median time of 7.9 (3.1-15.2) years since surgery. The overall recurrence incidence in respondents was 13.7% (7) in the abdominal group and 15.3% (15) in the vaginal group (p = 0.80), with a retreatment incidence of 5.9% (3) in the abdominal and 5.2% (5) in the vaginal group (p = 0.85).

conclusionsOne in four young women experienced subjective POP recurrence and/or retreatment, but only 5-10% underwent retreatment. There does not appear to be a difference in the incidence of recurrence between vaginal and abdominal colpopexy.