The Best Evidence for Pessary Use in the Management of Prolapse

Types of pessaries: Ring (A), and Gellhorn (C) are the two most common types used to manage prolapse symptoms

As the article The Best Evidence for Conservative Management of Prolapse will tell you, a Cochrane Review is an article written by experts in a medical field summarising the latest research about a particular condition.

The article mentioned above provides information about conservative treatment (mainly physiotherapy) of prolapse.

The following Cochrane Review gives you a summary of the latest information about the effectiveness of using a pessary: Pessaries (mechanical devices) for managing pelvic organ prolapse in women.

A pessary is a support for the vaginal walls, usually made from silicone, that is worn internally. While some women find that a pessary will not stay in place or is not comfortable due to other injuries or conditions, many women find that using a pessary can reduce their prolapse symptoms and even allow them to do a greater variety of activities.

As always, I recommend that you read the summary of the review yourself, and draw your own conclusions, but here are some of the key findings:

• Only one study of the effectiveness of pessary use has been conducted
• This study compared two of the most commonly used types of pessaries, the ring and Gellhorn
• The study found that both types were effective for the 60% of women who completed the study, and that they worked as well as each other

Because there has only been one study about pessary use, there still needs to be a lot more research before any firm conclusions can be drawn. It is promising, however, that this initial study has had positive results.