What Are the Symptoms and Treatment Options for Bladder Prolapse?
Bladder prolapse is a chronic disease with a high incidence rate that can cause significant harm to physical health. If not treated promptly, long-term illness can not only affect a patient's physical health but also impact their normal life. Many people may be unfamiliar with or have never heard of bladder prolapse, which can lead to difficulties in responding appropriately when symptoms appear. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the symptoms and treatment methods of bladder prolapse.
What are the symptoms and treatments of bladder prolapse?
1. Symptoms of bladder prolapse
(1) Foreign body sensation: Bladder prolapse mainly refers to the protrusion of the female bladder outside the body through the anterior wall of the vagina. This can lead to a foreign body or friction sensation in the perineal area, and visually, a bulging mass may be observed during straining to defecate.
(2) Dysuria, difficulty urinating, or incomplete emptying: After the bladder protrudes, the residual urine in the bladder increases, leading to decreased effective urination pressure and symptoms of dysuria. Additionally, due to the inability to expel the residual urine in the bladder, patients may constantly feel a sense of incomplete emptying or experience frequent urination.
(3) Stress urinary incontinence: The presence of pelvic floor organ prolapse can lead to bladder prolapse and urethral descent, resulting in urinary incontinence when using abdominal pressure. This can occur during activities such as coughing, speaking loudly, or jumping, where the abdominal pressure causes a rapid increase in bladder pressure, exceeding the closing pressure of the urethra and leading to urinary incontinence.
2. Treatments for bladder prolapse
Bladder prolapse is generally treated surgically, with two main methods: manual reduction and surgical suspension.
(1) Manual reduction: This involves gently pushing the bladder back into its original position under anesthesia, using either a hand, a straight urethral metal probe, or a cystoscope. Incomplete bladder prolapse often leads to the expulsion of a large amount of retained urine after reduction. It is necessary to retain a urinary catheter after reduction to prevent recurrence in the short term.
(2) Surgical suspension: This method is used when manual reduction is ineffective. It involves fixing the bladder to the muscular membrane of the anterior wall. Bladder prolapse often occurs due to excessive relaxation of the muscles of the pelvic floor, which leads to laxity of the bladder neck and urethra. Therefore, patients with bladder prolapse often have a history of urinary incontinence before the occurrence of prolapse. Bladder prolapse is classified into incomplete and complete types, with the former being more common. Surgical treatment is generally required for bladder prolapse.
