Current trends in pessary management of vaginal prolapse: a multidisciplinary survey of UK practice
Abstract
Introduction and hypothesis Symptomatic vaginal prolapse affects 6-28% of women and significantly impacts their quality of life. Pessaries for prolapse are used by three-quarters of clinicians as a first-line treatment; however, current clinical use in the UK is unknown and there is a lack of clinical guidance or training. This study is aimed at informing the upcoming UK Clinical Guidance on best practice for the use of pessaries document.Methods A 19-question, anonymised, electronic survey was sent to members of the nine professional bodies delivering pessary care in the UK.Results Of 917 respondents, 403 (246 nurses, 134 doctors, 22 physiotherapists and 1 other profession) currently deliver pessary care. PVC/vinyl ring, silicone ring, Gellhorn and shelf pessaries are most popular, and are used frequently by 93% of respondents. Further pessary training was deemed necessary by 62% of those currently providing pessary care, and 70% of those who do not. The most highly rated method for previous and future training is shadowing another clinician. One in three respondents receive no ancillary support and nearly 1 in 7 (predominantly nurses) report the absence of cross-cover arrangements, leaving a gap in care provision.Conclusions Service provision, support and pessary training in the UK vary greatly. This calls for the standardisation of care, training and development of a national guideline. We present a clear rationale and need for a UK guideline on pessary management of vaginal prolapse and a standardised pessary training model for multi-professional use.
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All international surveys of pessary practice highlight a common theme of pessary practitioners wanting further training in pessary management and a lack of accreditation for training.
“All international surveys of pessary practice highlight a common theme of pessary practitioners wanting further training in pessary management and a lack of accreditation for training [47, 48, 49, 50].”
From How Can We Improve the Assessment and Indifferent Outcomes From Pelvic Organ Prolapse Management From Conservative and Surgical Therapies? ICI‐RS 2025 (2026) · cites this paper as [50]
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- Authors
- Brown, C. A., Pradhan, A., & Pandeva, I.
- Affiliations
- Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Brown, Claire A.
- Venue
- International Urogynecology Journal
- Published
- 2020-10-09
- Volume
- 32
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 1015-1022
- ISSN
- 0937-3462 (ISSN-L)
- 1433-3023
- OpenAlex
- W3092228177
- Cited by
- 25
- References
- 20
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 3
- FWCI
- 2.26
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- International Urogynecology Journal (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Chartered Society of Physiotherapy Charitable Trust
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Rheumatology › Pelvic floor disorders treatments
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Sexual function and dysfunction studies
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Obstetrics and Gynecology › Uterine Myomas and Treatments
- Keywords
- vaginal prolapse, multidisciplinary care, clinical practice variation
- MeSH terms
- Female, United Kingdom, Humans, Pessaries, Quality of Life, Surveys and Questionnaires, Uterine Prolapse, Pelvic Organ Prolapse
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