Abstract
Introduction: Pelvic floor hernias are encountered especially in elderly women. A combined genital, bladder, and rectal prolapse poses treatment challenges in aged women.
Case presentation: We present the case of an 88 year-old patient, complaining of an intravaginal mass protruding for the last 3 months, rectal prolapse that occurred two weeks before admittance, accompanied by stress incontinence of urine and chronic constipation. Examination revealed a uterine prolapse with cystocele and a fourth grade rectal prolapse. We decided on a perianal and transvaginal approach, performing preliminary dilatation and curettage, cervix amputation, anterior colporrhaphy and colpoperineorrhaphy (Manchester procedure) with perineal rectosigmoidectomy using the LigaSure™ device, and coloanal manual anastomosis. Postoperatively the patient had no symptoms of stress urinary incontinence, bowel movement resumed in the fourth postoperative day, and the patient was discharged after seven days. One month after surgery the patient has both urinary and fecal continence, with no relapse in pelvic organ prolapse.
Conclusions: Encountering genital, bladder, and rectal prolapse in the same patient is quite rare, and its treatment can be difficult in aged women. Therefore, a less invasive surgical procedure, using the transvaginal approach, and a genital sparing surgery could be the key in cases like this.
Surgical treatment of rectal prolapse: experience and late results with 51 patients
