Pelvic prolapse surgery

Your pelvic muscles hold your pelvic organs in place. If they become weak, your uterus, bowel, or bladder may press against your vagina. This is called a pelvic prolapse. Surgery puts your organ back in place. It also adds support to your muscles.

You will be asleep during the surgery. You will not feel pain. The doctor can do the surgery in several ways. In open surgery, the doctor makes a cut in your belly. The cut is called an incision. In laparoscopic surgery, the doctor puts a lighted tube and other surgical tools through small incisions near your belly button and groin. This tube is called a scope. It lets the doctor see your organs. Surgery can also be done through the vagina. With vaginal surgery, the doctor makes a small cut in the vagina instead of the belly.

If you have open surgery, you will go home in 1 to 4 days. It usually takes about 4 to 6 weeks to fully recover. If you have vaginal or laparoscopic surgery, you may go home the day of surgery or in 1 or 2 days. It usually takes 1 to 2 weeks to fully recover. At home, you may need to wear a catheter. This is a tube in your bladder. It carries urine out of your body.

After surgery, you may have less pain during sex. The surgery may also help with any bladder or bowel problems you may have had. If you still have your uterus, your ability to get pregnant will not be affected.

Surgery can be stressful. This information will help you understand what you can expect. And it will help you safely prepare for surgery.

Preparing for surgery

• You may need to take a laxative or enema before surgery. Your doctor will tell you how to do this.
• Be sure you have someone to take you home. Anesthesia and pain medicine will make it unsafe for you to drive or get home on your own.
• Understand exactly what surgery is planned, along with the risks, benefits, and other options.
• If you take a medicine that prevents blood clots, your doctor may tell you to stop taking it before your surgery. Or your doctor may tell you to keep taking it. (These medicines include aspirin and other blood thinners.) Make sure that you understand exactly what your doctor wants you to do.
• Tell your doctor ALL the medicines, vitamins, supplements, and herbal remedies you take. Some may increase the risk of problems during your surgery. Your doctor will tell you if you should stop taking any of them before the surgery and how soon to do it.
• Make sure your doctor and the hospital have a copy of your advance directive. If you don’t have one, you may want to prepare one. It lets others know your health care wishes. It’s a good thing to have before any type of surgery or procedure.

Activity

• Rest when you feel tired. Getting enough sleep will help you recover.
• Try to walk each day. Start out by walking a little more than you did the day before. Bit by bit, increase the amount you walk. Walking boosts blood flow and helps prevent blood clots, pneumonia, and constipation.
• Avoid lifting anything that will make you strain—which includes lifting a child, a vacuum, or grocery bags—for about 4 to 6 weeks after surgery.
• Avoid strenuous activities, such as biking, jogging, weightlifting, and aerobic exercise, for about 4 to 6 weeks after surgery.
• You may shower. Pat the incision dry when you are done. Do not take a bath for the first week after surgery or until your doctor tells you it is okay.
• You may have some light vaginal bleeding. Wear sanitary pads if needed. Do not douche or use tampons.
• Ask your doctor when you can drive again.
• You will probably need to take 2 to 4 weeks off work for open surgery and 1 week off for laparoscopic surgery or vaginal surgery. It depends on the type of work you do and how you feel.
• Ask your doctor when it is okay to have sex. And do not place anything in your vagina for 6 weeks or until your doctor tells you it's okay.

Diet

• You can eat your normal diet. If your stomach is upset, try bland, low-fat foods like plain rice, broiled chicken, toast, and yogurt.
• Drink plenty of fluids (unless your doctor tells you not to).
• You may notice that your bowel movements are not regular right after your surgery. This is common. Try to avoid constipation and straining with bowel movements. You may want to take a fiber supplement every day. If you have not had a bowel movement after a couple of days, ask your doctor about taking a mild laxative.

Medicines

• Your doctor will tell you if and when you can restart your medicines. You will also get instructions about taking any new medicines.
• If you stopped taking aspirin or some other blood thinner, your doctor will tell you when to start taking it again.
• Be safe with medicines. Take pain medicines exactly as directed.
  • If the doctor gave you a prescription medicine for pain, take it as prescribed.
  • Store your prescription pain medicines where no one else can get to them. When you are done using them, dispose of them quickly and safely. Your local pharmacy or hospital may have a drop-off site.
  • If you are not taking a prescription pain medicine, ask your doctor if you can take an over-the-counter medicine.
• If you think your pain medicine is making you sick to your stomach:
  • Take your medicine after meals (unless your doctor tells you not to).
  • Ask your doctor for a different pain medicine.
• If your doctor prescribed antibiotics, take them as directed. Do not stop taking them just because you feel better. You need to take the full course of antibiotics.

Incision care

• If you have strips of tape on the cut (incision) the doctor made, leave the tape on for a week or until it falls off.
• Wash the area daily with warm, soapy water and pat it dry.
• Keep the area clean and dry. You may cover it with a gauze bandage if it weeps or rubs against clothing. Change the bandage every day.

Other instructions

• If you go home with a urinary catheter, follow your doctor's instructions on catheter care.
• Wear loose, comfortable clothing and avoid anything that puts pressure on your belly, such as a girdle, for a few weeks.
• Your doctor may recommend pelvic floor (Kegel) exercises, which tighten and strengthen pelvic muscles, once you have completely healed. (If doing these exercises causes pain, stop doing them and talk with your doctor.) To do Kegel exercises:
  • Squeeze your muscles as if you were trying not to pass gas. Or squeeze your muscles as if you were stopping the flow of urine. Your belly, legs, and buttocks shouldn't move.
  • Hold the squeeze for 3 seconds, then relax for 5 to 10 seconds.
  • Start with 3 seconds, then add 1 second each week until you are able to squeeze for 10 seconds.
  • Repeat the exercise 10 times a session. Do 3 to 8 sessions a day.