TUESDAY, Feb. 24, 2004 (HealthDayNews) -- A robotic-assisted procedure is as effective as full surgery for correcting post-hysterectomy sagging vagina, says a Mayo Clinic study in the February issue of Urology.
This is the first study in the United States to examine the feasibility of this method of repairing vaginal vault prolapse, or collapsed vaginal walls.
"The benefit to the patient is dramatic. It's fast, markedly less painful and a strong repair, with much quicker recovery," Dr. Daniel Elliott, one of the study authors, says in a prepared statement.
The procedure is called robotic-assisted laparoscopic sacrocolpopexy. It's used to pin back in place the top of a vagina that has fallen down within the vaginal canal or outside the vaginal opening. About 10 percent of women who have a hysterectomy experience sagging of the vagina that requires surgical repair.
This study included the first five women to undergo the robotic-assisted surgery at the Mayo Clinic.
More information
The U.S. National Women's Health Information Center has more about hysterectomy.
