Almost half of women between the ages of 50 and 79 have some degree of pelvic organ prolapse, and uterine prolapse is among the more common. While there may be some comfort knowing you’re not alone with this problem, you’re anxious to find solutions, which is where the experienced team at the Women’s Clinic of the Rio Grande Valley can help.
At the head of our team is Dr. Fernando Otero, who has extensive experience helping women overcome pelvic organ prolapse, especially uterine prolapse.
Here’s a look at your treatment options for uterine prolapse.
To better understand your treatment options, it’s helpful to first have a better understanding of what happens when one of your pelvic organs shifts out of place. With uterine prolapse, the supporting structures of the organ weaken, and your uterus drops into your vaginal canal.
When we reference supporting structures, we’re referring to the muscles, ligaments, and tissues that hold your uterus in place.
There are many reasons why these tissues lose the ability to support your uterus, including childbirth, menopause, and carrying extra weight.
In the initial stages of uterine prolapse, you may not notice any symptoms. If your uterus continues its downward slide into your vagina, you may experience:
In extreme cases, your uterus can begin to exit your vagina, which is a complete prolapse.
As you can see by the list of symptoms, uterine prolapse can affect you in varying degrees, which dictates our treatment to a great extent.
With milder cases, we focus on treatments that strengthen and relieve the pressure on the tissues that support your uterus. For example, if you’re carrying extra pounds, we recommend losing weight, which takes some of the pressure off your support tissues.
As well, we always recommend pelvic floor exercises, such as Kegels, which go a long way toward strengthening your support tissues.
If your uterine prolapse is a result of another problem, such as chronic constipation or an ongoing cough, we recommend remedying these underlying issues.
If these measures fail to provide adequate support for your uterus and your symptoms continue, we can insert a pessary, which is a device that provides additional support for your uterus.
If your uterine prolapse is severe, you may want to consider a hysterectomy, a procedure in which we remove your uterus. Alternatively, Dr. Otero can use minimally invasive surgical techniques to reposition and resupport your uterus.
The best advice we can give you for treating uterine prolapse is to come see us at the first signs of a problem. The earlier we can intervene and treat the prolapse, the better your chances are of avoiding more aggressive solutions like surgery. Not to mention, you can relieve your symptoms and regain your quality of life more quickly with early intervention.
To learn more about your treatment options for uterine prolapse, contact one of our two offices in McAllen or Edinburg, Texas, to set up consultation.
