Rating the Degree of Pelvic Organs Prolapse in Women According to the POPQ Method Before and After Emptying the Urinary Bladder

Pelvic organ prolapse is a common disorder that affects 3-9% of adult women. Treatment of this disorder varies and includes behavioral therapy, pelvic floor muscles rehabilitation exercises, medication therapy, devices that are tailored to the patient in order to improve pelvic organ support and various surgical procedures. Developments in this field and the need to tailor the appropriate treatment to the type and degree of pelvic organ prolapse resulted in the development of an agreed method to rate the degree of pelvic organs prolapse.

Pelvic organs prolapse grading has an important roll in determining the appropriate treatment. A big proportion of women who suffer from pelvic organ prolapse suffer from urinary system disorders as well, such as difficulty in urinating, urinary incontinence, and urgency and frequency.

At the pelvic floor reconstruction clinic, women who suffer from pelvic organs prolapse, undergo a preliminary workup that includes a medical questionnaire, physical examination to evaluate the degree of pelvic organ prolapse according to the Pelvic Organ Prolapse Quantification method (POPQ), and a urodynamic test.

The impression of differences in the degree of prolapse according to POPQ method, before and after urination, has led to the hypothesis that the degree of pelvic organs prolapse varies according to the degree of fullness of the bladder

Urodynamic test is a test performed during patient evaluation at the pelvic floor reconstruction clinic. During this test the woman is asked to empty her bladder and then two transducers are inserted, one into the bladder and the other into the rectum. During the test the bladder is filled with physiological solution and then the patient is asked to urinate. During bladder emptying urinary flow velocity is measured and the pressure in the abdomen and bladder recorded for later evaluation.