The management of pelvic organ prolapse in England: A 4-year analysis of hospital episode statistics (HES) data

Abstract

The aim of this study was to establish the number and trend of surgical procedures and pessary management of pelvic organ prolapse in England, using Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data. An online search (www.hesonline.nhs.uk) was carried out. The number of various surgical procedures, as well as pessary insertions and removals for pelvic organ prolapse was obtained. Data were available for the 4-year period March 2002 to June 2005. Over 20,000 procedures performed and 600 pessaries inserted annually. The total number of patients having treatment for pelvic organ prolapse as well as the number of patients having surgery and pessary in English hospitals increased by < 10% over the previous year in 2 of the 4 years included and decreased by < 1% in one. Anterior vaginal wall repair was the commonest performed procedure for pelvic organ prolapse and sacrocolpopexy appears to be the most frequent procedure for post-hysterectomy vaginal vault prolapse. There was no change in trends between surgery and pessary over the studied 4-year interval (p < 0.05). The lack of specific codes precluded providing more detailed information. The availability of data sooner and for longer periods as well as the use of more specific codes are needed to provide more useful information.