Colpocleisis for the Treatment of Vaginal Vault Prolapse*

I. INTRODUCTION Pelvic prolapse conditions have plagued women for thousands of years; however, it is only since the late 19th century that procedures have been developed to safely and effectively treat these conditions. Even today, pelvic prolapse conditions remain a challenging problem, with vault prolapse remaining the most difficult problem to treat because multiple support defects usually coexist. A thorough understanding of pelvic anatomy, pathophysiology, and urodynamics and experience in selecting the appropriate surgical techniques are required to treat vault prolapse with minimal morbidity or treatment failures.