Impact of laparoscopic sacrocolpopexy (LSC) on sexual function in women with advanced stages of pelvic organ prolapse (POP): A five-year prospective study

Objective: To compare patients undergoing laparoscopic sacrocolpopexy (LSC) for pelvic organ prolapse (POP), in terms of sexual function and surgical anatomical outcomes more than 5-years follow up period. Study Design: This is a cohort study of prospectively collected data that includes all women who underwent LSC between July 2005 and December 2021 at a tertiary care center. A total of 228 women were enrolled in this study. Patients completed a validated quality of life questionnaires and were evaluated using the POP-Q, the PFDI-20, PFIQ-7 and the PISQ-12 scores. Patients were divided preoperatively if they are sexually active or not and postoperatively according to the sexual improvement after POP surgery. Results: There was a statistically significant improvement in the PFDI, PFIQ and POPQ score. There was no significant improvement in the PISQ-12 score with more than 5 years follow-up. 76.1 % of patients who were not sexually active preoperatively resumed their sexual activity after the surgery. Conclusion: The anatomical correction of a pelvic organ prolapse and pelvic floor disorders by laparoscopic sacrocolpopexy allowed a significant proportion (over3/4) of the women to resume sexual activity whom had not previously been sexually active. However, PISQ 12 scores did not alter significantly in those who were sexually active prior to surgery. Sexual function is a very complex issue affected by multitude of factors among which prolapse seems to be less important.