Pelvic organ prolapse surgery in the United States, 1997

Objective: Our purpose was to describe the prevalence, regional rates and demographic characteristics, morbidity, and mortality of pelvic organ prolapse surgeries in the United States. Study design: We used data from the 1997 National Hospital Discharge Survey and the 1997 National Census to calculate rates of pelvic organ prolapse surgeries by age, race, and regional trends. Results: In 1997, 225,964 women underwent surgery for prolapse (22.7 per 10,000 women). The mean age of these women was 54.6 years (±15.2). The South had the highest rate of surgery (29.3 per 10,000) and the Northeast had the lowest (16.1 per 10,000). The surgery rate for whites (19.6 per 10,000) was 3 times greater than that for African Americans (6.4 per 10,000). Although 16% of surgeries had complications, mortality was rare (0.03%). Conclusion: Pelvic organ prolapse surgery is common. Regional and racial differences in rates of surgery may reflect physician practice, patient preferences, and gynecologic care utilization. (Am J Obstet Gynecol 2002;186:712-6.)