The characteristics and satisfaction of the patients using vaginal pessaries.

OBJECTIVE To study the characteristics of pelvic organ prolapse (POP) patients that used a pessary. DESIGN Prospective, descriptive study. SETTING Urogynecology Clinic, Ramathibodi Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Mahidol University. MATERIAL AND METHOD The authors conducted a prospective, observational study. The average age, parity, average body mass index, menopausal age, pessary type, and reasons for pessary use were collected in the present study. The symptoms, satisfaction, complication, and continuation rates after use were recorded. RESULTS For the 40 subjects, the average age was 70.4 years, the average of parity, body mass index, and menopausal age were 4, 24.5 kg/m2, and 22 years, respectively. The reasons for choosing a pessary included mostly risks and reluctance to undergo surgery. The complications from using a pessary were vaginal erosion, which was found in one case. Thirty-seven patients (92.5%) were satisfied and continued to use pessaries. CONCLUSION Most POP patients had a favorable outcome in terms of satisfaction with the pessary use and continued to use pessaries.