Pelvic organ prolapse and urinary incontinence affect over 10 million women annually. Medical management remains the first line of treatment for many women. Non-surgical treatment options now include: pharmacologic therapy, lifestyle and behavioral changes, Kegel exercises, biofeedback with functional electrical stimulation, and pessaries. Surgical repair options for urogynecology disorders have expanded in the past several years to include therapies as diverse as: urethral slings and sacrocolpopexy, including robot-assisted sacrocolpopexy using the da Vinci Surgical™ System, Interstim neuromodulation and a variety of minimally invasive vaginal reconstructive procedures.
Cooper University Hospital is one of a few centers in South Jersey offering robotic-assisted sacrocolpopexy. The majority of patients with pelvic organ prolapse, especially those with vaginal vault prolapse, are candidates for the robotic-assisted procedure. “The patients are in the driver’s seat regarding treatment. We evaluate them and give them the options,” said Ricardo Caraballo, MD, Co-Division Head, Female Pelvic Medicine & Reconstructive Surgery (urogynecology).
The Largest Local Urogynecology Program
Cooper’s urogynecology program is the largest and oldest such program in South Jersey. The urogynecologists see about 1,100 new patients and perform about 450 procedures each year. “We are four fellowship-trained urogynecologists who spend 100 percent of our time taking care of women with urogynecologic problems, in the only program in South Jersey that is part of a university hospital,” said Adam S. Holzberg, DO, Co-Division Head of Urogynecology and the program’s first fellow in 2000. Cooper offers the only urogynecology fellowship program in South Jersey.
For more information about Urogynecology or to refer a patient, please call 856.325.6622.