Does self-management of vaginal pessaries improve care for women with pelvic organ prolapse?

Carol Bugge*, Melanie Dembinsky, Rohna Kearney, Suzanne Hagen

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    16 Citations (Scopus)
    382 Downloads (Pure)

    Abstract

    Self-management of vaginal pessary for pelvic organ prolapse may enable patient autonomy over when to remove and insert the pessary (for example, to remove before intercourse) and may reduce the number of clinic appointments.
    Limited evidence from small observational studies suggests that self-management may improve the length of time a woman uses a pessary for, her satisfaction, and her quality of life, without increasing complication rates, but it is difficult to generalise from this evidence.
    During the covid-19 pandemic, reassure women who may need a pessary change that a delay of a few months is acceptable as long as they are not experiencing any problems such as vaginal bleeding, discharge, or pain.
    Original languageEnglish
    Article numbern310
    Number of pages4
    JournalBMJ
    Volume372
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 19 Feb 2021

    Keywords

    • pessary prolapse self-management

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • General Medicine

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