ABSTRACT
I. INTRODUCTION The true prevalence of pelvic floor prolapse is unknown. It is estimated that 500,000 surgical procedures for prolapse are performed annually in the United States. Vaginal vault prolapse comprises 18.2% [1,2] of all the different types of pelvic organ prolapse, with an estimated occurrence of 0.2-4.4% following a hysterectomy [3,4]. Marchionni et al. prospectively evaluated 448 of 2670 patients who underwent either a total vaginal or abdominal hysterectomy for nonmalignant disease [5]. Of the 448 patients, 20 (4.5%) developed vault prolapse at a mean follow-up of 11 years (range 9-13 years). Prolapse was the primary indication for hysterectomy in 14 of the 20 patients who developed recurrent vaginal vault prolapse.
