Assessment of pelvic organ prolapse

Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) is a common presenting complaint in gynaecology. It is therefore important that clinicians understand how to accurately assess women with prolapse. The aim of this article is to provide a comprehensive description of the assessment required. Anatomical assessment should be made using the standardized Pelvic Organ Prolapse quantification system (POP-Q). The use of POP-Q in women with POP allows effective communication between clinicians, reproducible evaluation of surgical outcomes, meaningful comparison of published series and comparison of different populations. The main focus of the article is a detailed and practical explanation of the POP-Q.