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The Daily Insight

What is a Cystocele repair

Author

Rachel Hickman

Published Mar 16, 2026

A cystocele repair is a surgery to put your bladder back in its normal place. Your surgeon will fix the wall between your bladder and vagina to keep your bladder from moving again.

Is cystocele repair major surgery?

Cystocele (bladder prolapse) repair is major surgery. Yes, cystocele (bladder prolapse) repair is major surgery. Even if your surgery is done through a less invasive way, surgeries to repair prolapse tend to be major surgery.

How serious is cystocele?

Although not life-threatening, a cystocele can have a negative impact on a woman’s quality of life. If it is not treated at all, the condition can continue to get worse. In the worst cases, the woman may be unable to urinate, which can cause kidney damage or infection.

How long is recovery from cystocele repair?

A typical recovery period is 2-3 weeks. Your doctor may prescribe pain medication. You can begin regular physical activity within hours of your procedure, but you should refrain from sex for six weeks. Before you leave the hospital, you’ll schedule a post-op appointment between 4-6 weeks after surgery.

How do they do a cystocele repair?

Cystocele repair surgery is done through a small incision (surgical cut) in your vaginal wall. If a sling is being placed, your surgeon will make 2 smaller incisions on your lower abdomen (belly) or inner thigh. A catheter will drain urine from your bladder while the area heals.

Is a pessary better than surgery?

Patients switched preference from surgery to a pessary at a median risk of stress urinary incontinence of 22% and of recurrent prolapse of 43%. Patients switched preference from pessary to surgery at a median risk of vaginal irritation of 32%, of placing problems of 32% and of incomplete symptom relief of 17%.

How painful is cystocele surgery?

You may experience discomfort in the vagina for 1-2 weeks following the surgery. The physician may place a medicated vaginal packing in the vagina overnight. The catheter stays for 2-6 days to give the bladder more time to function normally. You may notice bloody discharge and/or odor from the vagina for 1-2 weeks.

What is the success rate of bladder prolapse surgery?

Approximately 94% achieved surgical success when it was defined as the absence of prolapse beyond the hymen. Subjective cure (absence of bulge symptoms) occurred in 92.1% while absence of re-treatment occurred in 97.2% of participants.

How long is hospital stay after prolapse surgery?

You’ll usually need to stay in hospital overnight or for a few days. Most women can go home once their bladder is emptying well. In rare cases, you may need a catheter for a week or so. You’ll still be able to go home, but you’ll need to come back in a week or two to have the catheter removed.

What can you not do after bladder surgery?

Avoid strenuous activities, such as bicycle riding, jogging, weight lifting, or aerobic exercise, for about 3 weeks, or until your doctor says it is okay. For about 3 weeks, avoid lifting anything that would make you strain.

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How successful is cystocele surgery?

The anatomic success rate of cystocele repair was 75/79 (94.9%) and a highly significant improvement was noted for symptoms and on quality of life questionnaires.

How does a cystocele feel?

Symptoms of cystocele include: Feeling of pelvic heaviness or fullness. Bulge in the vagina that you can feel. Aching or a feeling of pressure in the lower belly or pelvis.

Can you push a prolapsed bladder back into place?

If you or your child has a rectal prolapse, you may be able to push the prolapse back into place as soon as it occurs. Your doctor will let you know if this is okay to do.

How long does it take to recover from bladder surgery?

After leaving the hospital, the person should expect to take several weeks for recovery. During this time, their body is healing from the surgery, so they should only perform light activities. After 4–6 weeks, doctors will usually allow a person who has had their bladder removed to resume normal activities.

Is prolapse surgery a major surgery?

Vaginal prolapse surgery is a major surgery with serious risks and potential complications. You may have less invasive treatment options depending on your circumstances.

Is bladder surgery painful?

Surgical repair may relieve some, but not all, of the problems caused by a cystocele or urethrocele. If pelvic pain, low back pain, or pain with intercourse is present before surgery, the pain may still occur after surgery.

Does a cystocele cause odor?

If you had a cystocele repair, the bladder catheter often needs to stay in longer—sometimes 2-6 days. This will allow the bladder more time to begin to work normally. You may notice an odor and/or bloody discharge from the vagina for 1-2 weeks.

Can your bladder fall out of your body?

Under normal conditions in women, the bladder is held in place by a “hammock” of supportive pelvic floor muscles and tissue. When these tissues are stretched and/or become weak, the bladder can drop and bulge through this layer and into the vagina. This results in bladder prolapse, also called cystocele.

How long does a bladder lift last?

How long does a bladder lift last? Bladder lift surgery typically has a high success rate, and the effects can last for several years. However, urine leakage may come back over time. A 2019 review of studies found that overall cure rates were as high as 88 percent for colposuspension following surgery.

What is the downside of a pessary?

A pessary can occasionally cause some complications: Foul-smelling discharge. This could be a sign of a condition called bacterial vaginosis, which is an imbalance in the natural bacteria found in your vagina. Irritation and even damage inside the vagina.

Can you poop with a pessary in?

Pessary use creates the ability for a patient to forgo or to extend their time for a surgical intervention due to pelvic organ prolapse. Looking at the dynamics of the pessary, it may block bowel movement emptying.

What is the best surgery for prolapsed bladder?

A healthcare provider may recommend surgery to repair the vaginal wall support and reposition the woman’s bladder to its normal position. The most common prolapsed bladder repair is an anterior vaginal repair—or anterior colporrhaphy.

How many hours is prolapse surgery?

Vaginal prolapse repairs typically take about 2.5 hours and patients usually stay in the hospital for one night. Occasionally patients will stay for two nights for comfort reasons. Restrictions after surgery include no heavy lifting or vigorous exercise for 2 weeks.

How do you prepare for a prolapse surgery?

Preparing for surgery You may need to take a laxative or enema before surgery. Your doctor will tell you how to do this. Be sure you have someone to take you home. Anesthesia and pain medicine will make it unsafe for you to drive or get home on your own.

How long does it take to get over a prolapse operation?

You may need about 4 to 6 weeks to fully recover from open surgery and 1 to 2 weeks to recover from laparoscopic surgery or vaginal surgery. It is important to avoid heavy lifting while you are recovering, so that your incision can heal.

What percentage of prolapse surgeries fail?

Results of a recent extended study of prolapse surgery showed that in 60% of women, two common procedures failed within 5 years. Nevertheless, more than half of those patients still reported better quality of life than before uterosacral ligament suspension (ULS) and sacrospinous ligament fixation (SSLF).

Can bladder prolapse be fixed without surgery?

A prolapsed bladder is rarely a life-threatening condition. Most cases that are mild can be treated without surgery, and most severe prolapsed bladders can be completely corrected with surgery.

How common is prolapse surgery?

According to the American Urogynecologic Society, there are 3.3 million women in the United States with pelvic organ prolapse, and 300,000 pelvic prolapse surgeries are performed in the country each year.

How long is the hospital stay after bladder removal?

You may need to stay in the hospital for up to five or six days after surgery. This time is required so that your body can recover from the surgery.

How long do you need a catheter after bladder surgery?

After the operation Sometimes the catheter must stay in place for a while after you go home. The blood in your urine will slowly clear and then the catheter can come out. This is normally about 1 to 3 days after surgery.

How do you pee after bladder removal?

A tube made from a piece of your small intestine funnels your pee from the kidneys directly to the outside of your body. A surgical hole on your belly lets the open end of the small intestine drain the urine into a small, flat pouch. You’ll have to empty it several times a day. Neobladder.