Tension-free Polypropylene Mesh-related Surgical Repair for Pelvic Organ Prolapse has a Good Anatomic Success Rate but a High Risk of Complications

BACKGROUND: Food and Drug Administration announcements have highlighted the standard rate of mesh-related complications. We aimed to report the short-term results and complications of tension-free polypropylene mesh (PROSIMA™) surgical repair of pelvic organ prolapse (POP) using the standard category (C), timing (T), and site (S) classification system. METHODS: A prospective cohort study of 48 patients who underwent PROSIMA™ mesh kit-related surgical repairs were followed for two years at Peking Union Medical College Hospital. Recurrence was defined as symptomatic POP quantification (POP-Q) Stage II or higher (leading edge ≥ −1 cm). The Patient Global Impression of Change Questionnaire, the Chinese version of the Pelvic Floor Impact Questionnaire short-form-7 and POP/Urinary Incontinence Sexual Questionnaire short-form-12 were used to evaluate the self-perception and sexual function of each patient. Mesh-related complications conformed to the International Urogynecological Association/International Continence Society joint terminology. The paired-sample t-test, one-way analysis of variance, Fisher's exact test, Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and log-rank test were used to analyze data. RESULTS: All patients were followed up for ≥12 months; 30 (62.5%) patients completed the 24 months study. We observed a 93.8% (45/48) positive anatomical outcome rate at 12 months and 90.0% (27/30) at 24 months. Recurrence most frequently involved the anterior compartment (P < 0.05). Pelvic symptoms improved significantly from baseline (P < 0.05), although the patients’ impressions of change and sexual function were not satisfying. Vaginal complication was the main complication observed (35.4%, 17/48). The survival analysis did not identify any relationship between vaginal complication and anatomical recurrent prolapse (POP-Q ≥ Stage II) (P = 0.653). CONCLUSIONS: Tension-free polypropylene mesh (PROSIMA™)-related surgical repair of POP has better short-term anatomical outcomes at the apical and posterior compartments, but a low patient satisfaction rate. The mesh complications were not the definitive cause of recurrence.