Transvaginal paravaginal repair of high-grade cystocele central and lateral defects with concomitant suburethral sling: Report of early results, outcomes, and patient satisfaction with a new technique

Baden-Walker classification grade III-IV (pelvic organ prolapse quantification [POP-Q] system stage III-IV) cystocele is associated with a constellation of abnormalities including urethral hypermobility, lateral defect, central defect, and concomitant vault and posterior wall prolapse. We describe a new transvaginal paravaginal technique to correct this group of abnormalities and report on our early results. We prospectively evaluated patients with high-grade cystocele who underwent repair with the new transvaginal paravaginal repair. Preoperative evaluation included history and physical examination, dynamic pelvic magnetic resonance imaging, urodynamics, and symptom questionnaire. All patients first underwent a distal urethral polypropylene sling surgery. After repair of the central defect of the cystocele, a paravaginal repair of the lateral defect was performed by using a circular 5 cm × 5 cm soft polypropylene mesh attached proximally to the sacrouterine/cardinal ligament, distally to the bladder neck, and laterally to the infralevator obturator fascia. Postoperative evaluation at 3-month intervals included history and physical examination using the POP-Q system, a voiding dysfunction and incontinence symptom questionnaire, the validated short form of the Urogenital Distress Inventory (UDI-6), a validated global quality-of-life question, and a postvoid residual. We performed the repair in 98 patients with a mean age of 65 years (range, 40 to 86 years). Of these, 26% underwent concomitant vaginal hysterectomy, 45% had enterocele repair, and 94% had rectocele repair. There were 2 complications, including transient ureteral obstruction due to bladder wall hematoma and 1 patient who presented with a recurrent enterocele requiring surgical repair. No patient experienced urinary retention. De novo stress urinary incontinence was seen in 3 patients; de novo urge incontinence was seen in 2 patients. Postoperative POP-Q scores showed 85% of patients with stage 0-I, 13% with stage II, and 2% with stage III anterior vaginal wall prolapse. Of patients with preoperative stress urinary incontinence, 70% reported never experiencing symptoms under any circumstances. Quality of life improved from 4.7 to 1 (P <0.005). Transvaginal paravaginal repair of grade III-IV cystocele using soft polypropylene mesh fixed to the obturator fascia, sacrouterine ligaments, and bladder neck area provides excellent support of the central defect repair as well as repair of the lateral defect. The operation is safe, simple, and outpatient based, and provides excellent anatomic results with minimal complications. Concomitant distal polypropylene sling did not increase the rate of complications and did not compromise results of stress urinary incontinence surgery.