Questions surrounding the optimal time for surgical treatment of pelvic organ prolapse

Objective: The purpose of study is to evaluate the recurrence rate of pelvic organ prolapse after surgical treatment and pre- to postoperative changes in sexual function of patients with different stages of pelvic organ prolapse. Methods: The presented study was a single-centre observational nonrandomized analysis of an ongoing prospective cohort study evaluating anatomical and clinical outcomes in reproductive aged women scheduled for nature tissue repair of POP staged I–III. Two hundred and ten women were recruited, of whom 120 (57.1%) had the advanced prolapse form (POP-Q III). Women at preoperative POP stage I–II were compared with women at stage III without apical prolapse. Results: The best effectively rate with low recurrence depends on preoperative prolapse stage. The overall objective success rate was about 80% in five years in patients with preoperative stage I–II. Study shows a significant improvement in sexual function in all patients with pelvic organ prolapse in five years after surgery. Conclusion: This study showed that women with advanced POP have a higher risk of recurrence after POP native tissue repair compared with early stages and proved the improvement of sexual function especially in women with advanced prolapse forms. Women with early stage of POP should be advised to postpone surgery until progression of complaints because of the high recurrence risk. © 2019 Elsevier B.V.