HealthInfo Canterbury
A pelvic organ prolapse is when the tissues and muscle that support the pelvic organs become weak, causing them to drop down and bulge into your vagina. There are several different kinds of prolapse, depending on which organ has dropped. If it's your uterus, it's called a uterine prolapse. If it's your bladder, it's called a cystocele. If it's your rectum, it's called a rectocele.
Anything that weakens or stretches your pelvic floor muscles and ligaments can increase your risk of getting a prolapse. This includes:
Depending on which organ has prolapsed, you could experience:
Sometimes there are no symptoms and the prolapse is only discovered during a pelvic examination or cervical screening.
Your doctor will ask you about any symptoms you have and how they affect your daily life. They'll usually do a pelvic examination and may also look at your cervix using an instrument called a speculum, which they put into your vagina.
The way a prolapse is treated depends on what type you have and how much it's affecting you.
Your doctor may recommend changes to your lifestyle, such as maintaining a healthy weight, keeping active, quitting smoking and bladder retraining. You should avoid heavy lifting and getting constipated. You can try exercises to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles.
If you have a vaginal prolapse and you've been through menopause, your doctor might prescribe vaginal estrogen cream.
If you still have problems, they may suggest you try a vaginal pessary. This is a silicone or plastic removable device that fits into your vagina and adds support to the walls of your vagina. If the pessary isn't successful, your doctor may refer you to a women's health physiotherapist to try a different type of pessary.
If none of these approaches work and your symptoms aren't improving and really harming your quality of life, you may be referred to a hospital specialist who will consider whether surgery would help.
HealthInfo recommends the following pages
Information about vaginal pessaries, including benefits and possible side effects.
Printable information about what a pelvic prolapse is, the different causes, types, available treatments and their risks.
Key points about pelvic prolapses, how they are diagnosed and treatment options.
Safety information on surgical mesh products in New Zealand.
Written by HealthInfo clinical advisers. Last reviewed September 2021.
Review key: HIPRO-12268