Pelvic Organ Prolapse - Symptoms, Treatments

A prolapse is a condition in which a part of the body falls out of the place that is supposed to inhabit. In most cases, this is a result of some muscular failure that causes the supported structure to come out of the body. Hemorrhoids are a typical type of prolapse in which chronic constipation causes the hemorrhoid tissue of the rectum to be pushed outside the body and dangle out. This has to then be corrected by sending the prolapsed tissue back into the rectum or by cutting away the affected tissue.

This kind of situation could also occur in the heart in a condition called a mitral valve prolapse. This occurs when one of the valves of the heart folds incorrectly into the chamber from which it is supposed to stop a back flow. This will cause a condition called mitral valve regurgitation and can be a problem if the volume of blood that is be regurgitated from one chamber to the other is enough to cause a heart attack. The treatment to this problem when not too severe is to simply avoid anxiety and panic attacks. In more advanced stages, a repair of the mitral valve may be required.

Pelvic organ prolapse is a condition that occurs in which the pelvic floor muscles lose their ability to hold up the uterus or the vaginal vault. This condition usually occurs in older women that are overweight or who have had to deliver an abnormally large child vaginally at some point in their lives. A pelvic organ prolapse is graded to identify the level of the problem. The first grade is when the uterus has dropped slightly but the woman has not realized it yet and the prolapse might have been discovered accidentally. The second grade is when the uterus is inside the vagina and the cervix can actually be seen outside the vagina. The last grade is when the whole uterus falls right through the vaginal opening. This is a medical emergency and will have to be dealt with by an immediate hysterectomy. A vaginal vault prolapse occurs when the topmost area of the vagina called the vault collapses and falls down slightly. This condition is usually caused because of a hysterectomy in the first place thought it usually only occurs in 15% of cases. The only treatment for this condition is to perform a hysterectomy and the use of devices to keep the falling organs in place.