Long-term outcome after routine surgery for pelvic organ prolapse-A national register-based cohort study

Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) is common, and women have an estimated 12-19% lifetime risk for needing POP surgery. Aims were to measure re-operation rates up to 10 years after POP surgery and patient-reported outcomes (PROMs) 5 years after a first-time operation for POP.

This is a cohort study using the Swedish National Quality Register for Gynaecological Surgery (GynOp). We retrieved information from 32,086 POP-operated women up to 10 years later. After validation, a web-based PROM questionnaire was sent to 4380 women who 5 years previously had standard POP surgery. Main outcome measures were reoperations due to a relapse of prolapse and PROMs 5 years after the primary operation.

Among women operated for all types of POP, 11% had re-operations 5 years later and an additional 4% 10 years later, with similar frequencies for various compartments/types of surgery. PROMs yielded a 75% response rate after 5 years. Cure rate was 68% for anterior, 70% for posterior, and 74% for combined anterior-posterior native repairs. Patient satisfaction exceeded 70%, and symptom reduction was still significant after 5 years (p < 0.0001).

Following primary prolapse surgery, re-operation rates are low, even after 10 years. A web-based survey for follow-up of PROMs after POP surgery is feasible and yields a high response rate after 5 years. The subjective cure rate after primary POP operations is high, with reduced symptoms and satisfied patients regardless of compartment. Standard prolapse surgery with native tissue repair produces satisfactory long-term results.