Outcomes of vaginal reconstructive surgery with and without graft material

Objective This study was undertaken to evaluate the outcomes of vaginal surgery for pelvic organ prolapse, comparing cases implementing graft augmentation to those without graft augmentation. Study design This was a retrospective cohort study of 312 patients who underwent vaginal surgery for prolapse from February 1998 to January 2004. Results Of the 312 patients, 98 (31.4%) had graft augmentation. The median follow-up was 9 months (3-67 months). Graft use was not associated with reduction in recurrent prolapse, recurrent stage 3 prolapse, recurrent incontinence, or additional surgery for prolapse. After controlling for confounders, there was still no difference in surgical outcomes. Complications such as vaginal/graft infection (18.4% vs 4.7%; P< .001) and granulation tissue (38.8% vs 17.3%; P< .001) were more common after cases in which graft was used. Conclusion In the early postoperative period, there was no benefit in using graft for prolapse repair. Graft use leads to a higher rate of postoperative complications.