Abstract
Pelvic organ prolapse is the descent of one or more of the anterior vaginal wall, posterior vaginal wall, the uterus, or the vaginal vault. Many patients with pelvic organ prolapse do not actually come to the doctor or seek medical support too late, although it may impair quality of life. This study aimed to determine the period when the patients with pelvic organ prolapse applied to the doctor, the time between the onset of symptoms and the time of admission to the doctor, and the cause of seeking medical advice. In this prospective study, Pelvic Organ Prolapse Quantification System (POP-Q) classification of the patients who came to our urogynecology outpatient clinic with the complaint of vaginal bulging was performed and the time between the prolapse symptoms and the moment when the patient was admitted to the clinic was investigated. 1473 patients admitted to our urogynecology outpatient clinic with pelvic organ prolapse between 01.01.2018 - 31.05.2019. Although 11.4% of the patients applied to the doctor as soon as they had become symptomatic, 42.7% applied to the doctor after 1-3 years. Even though anterior or apical compartment prolapse was frequently seen at admission, the probability of developing complete uterine prolapse increased significantly as the time of admission to the doctor was prolonged. The main reason for seeking medical support in prolapse patients was the deterioration in the quality of life. Although pelvic floor defects are common in women with advancing age, only about 10% of the patients go to a doctor as soon as they are symptomatic. All the remaining patients delayed admission to the doctor for various reasons and attempted to solve this problem on their own. There is a need to raise awareness of pelvic organ prolapse and the pelvic floor in the whole population.
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