Symptoms and preoperative goals in patients with pelvic organ prolapse

Introduction:
In the case of the pelvic organs, an equilibrium of retaining and displacing forces ensures that the pelvic organs are held in their proper position. Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) affects not only the genital organs, but also the urinary bladder and rectum, and this affects the complaints reported by patients and their expectations regarding surgical treatment. Identification of these expectations is important in idiographic (i.e. assessed by the patient herself) methods of assessing the results of therapy and selecting surgeries that will not only restore the ideal position of the pelvic organs, but also free the patient from ailments and meet her expectations. The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcomes for patients with pelvic prolapse and their preoperative outcomes.

Material and methods:
We examined 62 randomly selected patients qualified for surgical treatment due to pelvic organ prolapse at the Department of Gynaecology, Gynaecological Oncology, and Obstetrics of the University Clinical Hospital F. Chopin in Rzeszow using a diagnostic sur-vey method. The characteristics of the collected material and the results of examining relationships using the descriptive statistics method were analysed.

Results:
The most common and bothersome symptoms included activity limitations, urological symptoms, and emotional symptoms. Resolution of restriction and restoration of normal urination were the most common preoperative goals.

Conclusions:
Surgeons focus on the geometric assessment of pelvic organs position with the use of the POP-Q scale and set an ideal geometry as the goal of surgery. Midwives who are members of the diagnostic and therapeutic team should focus on patients’ quality of life, including recording the symptoms reported by patients at admission and their preoperative goals.