Changes of pelvic organ prolapse symptoms and quality of life one year after pessary fitting

Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) is the descend of pelvic organs including uterus, bladder, and rectum to the vaginal wall. Patients with POP may present with symptoms such as vaginal bulging with other symptoms like urinary, defecatory or sexual dysfunction. This study was conducted to evaluate the changes of POP symptoms one year after pessary fitting.

Patients with symptomatic pelvic organ prolapse who presented to the pelvic floor clinic of an academic hospital between August 2016 and April 2019 were considered. Pelvic organ prolapse symptoms including urinary, defecatory, sexual and bulging symptoms were recorded before and one year after pessary fitting. pelvic floor distress inventory (PFDI)-20 and pelvic floor impact questionnaire-7 (PFIQ-7) were evaluated before and after treatment for all subjects.

We analyzed the characteristics of 110 patients who used the pessary for 12 months. At the baseline, the most common prolapse symptoms were vaginal bulging and pelvic pressure. All urinary, defecatory and sexual symptoms significantly improved one year after regular pessary use(P<0.001). Changes in PFDI-20 and PFIQ-7 before and after pessary use showed the significant improvement in both frequency and satisfaction of sexual function (P<0.001).

The study showed significant improvement in bulging, urinary, and defecatory symptoms. Although the majority of patients were not sexually active, a significant proportions of sexually active patients reported an increase in sexual satisfaction.