Mayo Researchers Find Robotic Repair for Vaginal Prolapse Has Significan...( ROCHESTER Minn. Nov. 9 -- New Mayo C...),Health

ROCHESTER, Minn., Nov. 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- New Mayo Clinic research has found that robotic surgery for vaginal prolapse dramatically reduces patient hospital stay and recovery time. These findings are being presented this week at the North Central Section of the American Urological Association in Scottsdale, Ariz.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090105/MAYOLOGO)

VIDEO ALERT: Additional audio and video resources, including excerpts from an interview with Dr. Daniel Elliott describing the research, are available on the Mayo Clinic News Blog.

Vaginal prolapse is a condition in which structures such as the uterus, rectum, bladder, urethra, small bowel, or the vagina itself may begin to prolapse, or fall, from their normal positions. Without treatment or surgery, these structures may eventually prolapse farther into the vagina or even through the vaginal opening if their supports weaken enough.

"Vaginal prolapse is a common, yet distressing physical and cosmetic condition that 10-15 percent of women will suffer in their lifetimes," says Daniel Elliott, M.D., Mayo Clinic urologist and senior author on the study. "Robotic sacrocolpopexy surgery appears to offer many new benefits for patients -- including decreased hospital stay and quicker recovery. Our study looked at longer-term results post-surgery to find out how patients fared."

From 2002 to 2008, 48 women with symptomatic high-grade post-hysterectomy vaginal vault prolapse underwent robotic sacrocolpopexy, or vaginal wall repair. Researchers monitored these patients for three years to evaluate
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