Collagen-coated polypropylene mesh in vaginal prolapse surgery: an observational study.

OBJECTIVE: We evaluated the efficacy and safety of a collagen-coated polypropylene mesh with a trans-obturator approach for cystocele repair.

STUDY DESIGN: We considered as eligible for our study 97 patients with a stage ≥ 2 cystocele according to the Pelvic Organ Prolapse Staging System (POP-Q), with or without associated apical or posterior vaginal wall prolapse. They were also evaluated pre- and post-operatively using validated questionnaires (P-QoL, Wexner and PISQ-12). Patients underwent cystocele repair using Avaulta Biosynthetic Anterior Support System (CR Bard Inc., Billerica, USA). Objective anatomical cure was defined when points Ba, C and Bp were at stage 0 (good outcome) or stage 1 (satisfactory outcome). The McNemar chi-square test was used to compare categorical variables, the paired t-test for continuous parametric variables, and the Mann-Whitney test for continuous non-parametric variables.

RESULTS: All patients completed the 1-year follow-up. We observed an anatomical cure rate of 64.9% for anterior vaginal wall prolapse (point Ba<-1), and a statistically significant improvement in storage, voiding, post-micturition and prolapse-related symptoms. Quality of Life and sexuality were also statistically improved, while we found no impact on anorectal function. We also observed the development of vaginal mesh exposure in 21 patients (21.6%).

CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that the collagen-coated polypropylene mesh, as we used it, gives a high recurrence rate (35.1%) and a high exposure rate (21.6%) at one-year follow-up, and is consequently unsatisfactory for the treatment of anterior vaginal wall prolapse.