Study Comparing Transobturator Cystocele vs. Anterior Vaginal RepairS

Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) has a negative impact on the quality of life of affected women and anterior compartment defects remain the most challenging to repair. It was reported that a women has almost a 1 in 5 risk of needing any kind of POP surgery in her lifetime, with anterior wall repair accounting for 40.6% of all of these. Depending on the structures affected, cystocele can be secondary to defects at: A) Level I vaginal support, provided by the uterosacral and cardinal ligaments or B) Level II vaginal support, mainly provided by the pubocervical fascia. Level II defects can be midline or lateral (paravaginal) depending on whether the fascia is weak at the midline or detached from its lateral attachment to the arcus tendineus fasciae pelvis (ATFP). Clinically, these defects are often combined and/or may be bilateral. Hence, careful assessment and individualized planning of the surgical procedure is essential to optimize cystocele repair outcome.

Several surgical techniques and approaches have been used for cystocele repair. These involve native tissue and the use of mesh implanted transvaginally and / or transabdominally.The mainstay for the vaginal repair of a level I defects is to anchor the uterine cervix or vaginal vault to the sacrospinous or the anterior longitudinal ligaments. However, proper restoration of a level II defect is more complex. Although, a classical anterior colporrhaphy might be suitable to correct an isolated midline weakness in the endopelvic fascia, it is suboptimal, on its own, for the repair an associated lateral defect, which is a common association. Indeed, De Lancey reported that paravaginal defects (PVDs) were diagnosed in 89% of women undergoing surgery for cystocele and stress urinary incontinence.

Although a variety of techniques for paravaginal defect repair (PVDR) have been suggested, several of these are now not feasible in many countries following the FDA's ban on transvaginal mesh manufacture, sale and distribution. Therefore, currently there are attempts to utilize minimally invasive approaches and modern devices in PVDR native tissue repair. Applying this principle, e.g. Capio Suture Capturing Device (Boston Scientific) has been proposed to re-attach the vagina to the ATFP using two to four non-absorbable sutures. However, based on anatomical observation, the ATFP is thin its superior part and thicker inferiorly. This is an issue that might affect the reliability of identifying and ensuring a secure anchorage to the ATFP when solely using a transvaginal route. Recently a novel. Technique of PVDR, called transobturator cystocele repair has been published. However, as the technique was described recently, no follow-up data have been reported to support its practice.

The aim of this randomized controlled trial (RCT) is to compare the novel TOCR and standard anterior colporrhaphy (AR) regarding their safety, efficacy and quality-of-life improvement in a one-year follow-up.