When new health therapies appear in the relatively young medical specialty field of pelvic organ prolapse (POP), especially when they sound too good to be true, we tend to dismiss them as snake-oil quackery. While vaginal tissue regeneration therapy (VTR) research has progressed considerably in Europe over the past 10 years, validating the benefits of treatment for atrophy and incontinence, some clinicians and patients in the US remain skeptical, and consider them cosmetic at best. Based on personal experience, I can assure those who have yet to recognize the value these treatments to move forward with an open mind. There is indeed potential benefit to women experiencing a loss of quality of life related to symptoms POP displays.

Little talked about, often overlooked; enterocele is like the distant cousin who is a bit misunderstood compared to common cystocele and rectocele. Articles about pelvic organ prolapse can bevague when it comes to enterocele; this POP is sometimes undiagnosed or misdiagnosed when other types of POP are recognized (that was my scenario; a large enterocele was discovered during surgery). Let’s shine a bit of light on the difference between rectocele, intussusception, rectal prolapse, and enterocele.

At times, we get so caught up in our day to day rituals that we miss signals our bodies send us. Sometimes those signals are related to basic bodily functions, such as the need to urinate, defecate, or pass gas. But other times, subtle signals may be indicative of significant health issues, such as pelvic organ prolapse (POP), which is estimated to impact 50% of women.

We women tend to our professional and employment duties, our household chores, and the needs of our children or grandchildren. We tend to the stack of bills sitting on our desks.  We tend to our lawns and gardens. The one thing we typically don’t tend to is our health, or if we do, we push it to the bottom of our list.

With nearly every theme discussed freely these days in media, most health issues land squarely out in the open. Conversations related to sexual energy are generally considered acceptable topics of conversation. Unfortunately, the stigmatized symptoms of pelvic organ prolapse (POP) hinder dialogue about this extremely common women’s health condition.

I need to remind myself daily about POP maintenance daily. As I brush my teeth, I remember halfway through to contract my PC. When I put my makeup on, a little voice nags at me to “pull it in, pull it up”. As I blow-dry my hair and analyze my form in the mirror (oh come on now, you know we all do it), I think to myself am I pulling in my abdominal muscles but forgetting to contract my pelvic floor? As a grassroots women’s pelvic floor health advocate, shouldn’t I be doing all the right pelvic floor self-help stuff all the time?

The natural course of medical evolution is to research and experiment, adjust treatment techniques as need dictates, and shift health best practices forward. Hippocrates maintained that disease processes may have natural causes and put forth the Hippocratic Oath, First Do No Harm, to guide treatment practice. Somewhere between 129 - 216 AD, Galen established clinical medicine based on observation and experience, resulting in the integrated and comprehensive system that remains in practice to this day.

The path of women’s health is no different. Between 1800 - 1835 BC, the Kahun Papyrus established the practice of gynecology, and pelvic organ prolapse (POP) treatment was first documented. When a new treatment protocol shines a light, the voices of women experiencing pelvic organ prolapse clearly indicate they have renewed hope. The relatively recent development and exploration of radio-frequency and laser vaginal tissue restoration (VTR) therapy is generating buzz without a doubt.