Laparoscopic & Vaginal Pelvic Floor Repair
Your pelvic floor is a muscular partition that supports your pelvic organs, such as the uterus, bladder, and intestines. It maintains pressure in the abdomen to ensure a safe birth-passage during conception.
What conditions can affect my pelvic floor?
Damage to the pelvic floor is common and the professionals at FBW can help support you through it.
Primary causes include:
- Pregnancy
- Vaginal delivery
- Hysterectomy
- Pelvic floor surgery
- Menopause/ Hormonal status
- Insufficient muscle tone
- Heavy lifting, chronic constipation, chronic respiratory problems
Commonly, Kegel exercises can be performed to strengthen pelvic floor muscles and their function, however Monalisa touch may help vagina laxity or surgery may be necessary to repair significant damage to the pelvic floor.
What can I expect in pelvic floor surgery?
At FBW, Laparoscopic surgery is the main method of surgery but procedures vary depending on the condition and severity of the damage. These could be:
- Vault prolapse (vaginal roof prolapse) – at FBW we use Laparoscopic approach when possible to address this condition either with sutures or if indicated with augmentation. It also can be resolved with sacrospinous fixation surgery.
- Rectocoele (back wall prolapse) – connective tissue between the vagina and rectum are secured to reduce the bulge size, and excess tissue is removed.
- Urethrocoele (prolapse of the urethra) – either a narrowing of the vagina to create support for the bladder, or using your own body’s tissue to build back support for the bladder.
- Cystocele (front wall prolapse)- the bladder is moved upwards and secured by connective tissue, which is fixed in place.
- Hysteropexy (elevation of uterus) – in this surgery, the uterus is resuspended using sutures or synthetic material to hold it in place. This is an alternative to a hysterectomy.
- Sacrocolpopexy – the operation is designed to restore the vagina to its normal position by correcting the vaginal vault.
What is the recovery time for pelvic floor repair?
Recovery time is relatively short for most of the procedures and generally requires a few days in hospital. A catheter will be required overnight and general pain-killers are optional. Patients are often in a light activity condition within six weeks but recovery can take up to three months. Heavy lifting, constipation should be avoided, as it can cause damage. However mobilization is very much encouraged. We encourage no driving for 10 days and no intercourse for 6 week.