Introduction and hypothesisSurgical management of uterine prolapse varies greatly and recently uterus-preserving techniques have been gaining popularity. The aim of this study was to compare patient-reported outcomes after cervical amputation versus vaginal hysterectomy, with or without concomitant anterior colporrhaphy, in women suffering from pelvic organ prolapse.MethodWe carried out a population-based longitudinal cohort study with data from the Swedish National Quality Register for Gynecological Surgery. Between 2006 and 2013, a total of 3,174 patients with uterine prolapse were identified, who had undergone primary surgery with either cervical amputation or vaginal hysterectomy, with or without concomitant anterior colporrhaphy. Pre- and postoperative prolapse-related symptoms and patient satisfaction were assessed, in addition to complications and adverse events. Between-group comparisons were performed using univariate and multivariate logistic regression.ResultsThere were no differences between the two groups in neither symptom relief nor patient satisfaction. In both groups a total of 81 % of the women reported the absence of vaginal bulging 1 year after surgery and a total of 89 % were satisfied with the result of the operation. The vaginal hysterectomy group had a higher rate of severe complications than the cervical amputation group, 1.9 % vs 0.2 % (p < 0.001). The vaginal hysterectomy group also had a longer duration of surgery and greater perioperative blood loss, in addition to longer hospitalization.ConclusionsCervical amputation seems to perform equally well in comparison to vaginal hysterectomy in the treatment of uterine prolapse, but with less morbidity and a lower rate of severe complications.

This study indicates that the use of slowly absorbable sutures decreases the odds of having a symptomatic recurrence after an anterior colporrhaphy compared with the use of rapidly absorbable sutures. However, the use of RA sutures may result in less urgency 1 year postoperatively. In posterior colporrhaphy the choice of suture material does not affect postoperative symptoms.

Background and aimsThe life-time risk for a woman to undergo pelvic floor reconstructive surgery due to prolapse or incontinence is 20% and the high risk for recurrence after prolapse surgery is a major challenge. Surgical reconstruction of the perineal body is commonly performed, although studies assessing results of this procedure are scarce. Mid-urethral sling surgery has a cure rate of 80%, but whether the sling endures a subsequent delivery is largely unknown. In this thesis we aimed to investigate whether the choice of suture material has an impact on vaginal wall prolapse repair; whether cervical amputation results in similar cure rates in comparison to vaginal hysterectomy in women with uterine prolapse; if a subsequent delivery jeopardizes results from incontinence surgery; if physiotherapy and surgical treatment is equally effective in women with symptoms related to a poorly healed second-degree perineal tear. Methods and main resultsStudy I and II are both register-based cohort studies based on data from the Swedish National Quality Register for Gynecological Surgery (GynOp). In Study I, 731 women who underwent primary anterior colporrhaphy and 384 women who underwent primary posterior colporrhaphy were included. We found a significantly lower rate of women reporting vaginal bulging symptoms one year after anterior colporrhaphy if a slowly absorbable monofilament suture was used compared to a more rapidly absorbable multifilament suture, 22% vs 30% (aOR 1.6, 95% CI 1.1-2.3). There was no difference between the suture groups in the posterior colporrhaphy cohort. In Study II, women with uterine prolapse who had undergone either cervical amputation (n=1979) or vaginal hysterectomy (n=1195) were analyzed. There were no differences between the two groups regarding neither symptom relief nor patient satisfaction at one year after surgery. Vaginal hysterectomy was associated with a higher rate of severe complications compared to cervical amputation, 1.9 % vs 0.2 % (p < 0.001).Study III is a cross-sectional, survey-based study. National registers were used to identify women with a delivery subsequent to a mid-urethral sling procedure (n=207) and a matched control-group including women without childbirth after a mid-urethral sling procedure (n=521). Validated questionnaires investigating urinary symptoms were mailed to the study participants. Patient reported stress urinary incontinence was present in 22% of the women with a delivery after a mid-urethral sling procedure and in 17% of the women in the control group (aOR 1.2, 95% CI 0.7-2.0). Vaginal childbirth after mid-urethral sling surgery did not increase the risk of stress urinary incontinence compared to cesarean delivery. Study IV is a randomized controlled trial where 70 women with a poorly healed second degree perineal tear, minimum six months post-partum, were randomized to either surgery or tutored pelvic floor muscle therapy. In an intention-to-treat analysis with worst case outcome imputation, treatment success at 6 months followup was significantly...