Transvaginal repair of genital prolapse with Prolift™: Evaluation of safety and learning curve

Aims. - Evaluation of the mini invasiveness and the learning curve of the Prolift(TM) technique. Materials and methods. - Prospective study. All patients were operated on by the same surgeon. The mini-invasiveness of the procedure was estimated through the evaluation of the intraoperative and immediate postoperative complications. The learning curve was evaluated through the analysis of the operative time. Results. - Between January and December 2007. Forty-seven patients were included in the study. Mean follow-up was: 11,8 months. Two cases of bladder injury and two cases of intraoperative bleeding (> 500 ml) were reported. One case of vaginal erosion and one case of recurrence of the prolapse occurred during the follow-up. The mean operative time was 62 +/- 18 min. The mean operative time of the posterior step of the Prolift(TM) was 24 +/- min and remained stable after the 18th procedure. Discussion. - The learning cure of the posterior of the procedure is longer because of the passage of the needles through the ischiorectal foramens. The technique is mini-invasive considered the tow rate of intra and immediate postoperative complication and the learning curve short. Conclusions. - Longer follow-up is needed to evaluate the efficacy of the procedure in the tong term. (C) 2008 Elsevier Masson SAS. Tous droits reserves.