top of page

Glossary of Terms and Definitions

dyspareunia - painful sexual intercourse


cystocele - bladder falls; bladder and vaginal wall weakens and stretches, allowing the bladder to bulge into the vagina


rectocele - rectum falls; tissue that separates the rectum from the vagina weakens, the rectum bulges into the vagina


uterine prolapse - the uterus falls or descends toward or into the vagina, occurring when pelvic floor muscles become weak and are no longer able to support the uterus, in some cases, the uterus can protrude from the vaginal opening


Signs and symptoms of moderate to severe uterine prolapse:

  • Sensation of heaviness or pulling in your pelvis.
  • Tissue protruding from your vagina.
  • Urinary problems, such as urine leakage (incontinence) or urine retention.
  • Trouble having a bowel movement.

Treatment for uterine prolapse:

  • Kegel exercises to strengthen your pelvic muscles, 
  • losing weight,
  • treating constipation, and 
  • Pessary - vaginal pessary is a plastic or rubber ring inserted into your vagina to support the bulging tissues, which must be removed regularly for cleaning

Burch procedure - surgical procedure to treat urinary incontinence, in which the neck of the bladder is suspended from nearby ligaments with sutures, used when the bladder or urethra has fallen out of its normal position


Burch Colposuspension - used to treat stress urinary incontinence (SUI), an operation that puts stitches inside the pelvis through an incision (cut) across lower abdomen (tummy), which pulls up vagina around the area of the bladder opening


SUI - Stress urinary incontinence is the involuntary leakage of urine during periods of increased intra-abdominal pressure, including exertion such as laughing, coughing, sneezing, coughing, and jumping


Vaginal mesh extrusion - the mesh erodes through the skin and tissues and becomes exposed through the vaginal skin.

This may result in vaginal bleeding, abnormal discharge, dyspareunia or vaginal pain.


Symptoms of mesh erosion into the bladder/urethra

  • painful voiding, 
  • urinary frequency, 
  • urgency, 
  • hematuria - presence of blood in the urine, 
  • recurrent urinary tract infection, 
  • urinary calculi - solid particles in the urinary system, causing pain, nausea, vomiting, hematuria, and, possibly, chills and fever due to secondary infection, and 
  • urinary fistula - abnormal openings within a urinary tract organ or an abnormal connection between a urinary tract organ and another organ



Contact us to see what we can do for you!

bottom of page