Pessary Information       

Pessaries are devices that are inserted into the vagina, they can help to hold up your prolapse and can make you more comfortable while living with a prolapse. They can buy you comfort time prior to surgery or be an alternative to surgery itself. And NO they are not just for old ladies, as many doctors assume. They are for women who need them! 

There are many different types of pessaries, for each prolapse and grade.. By educating yourself, you can help your doctor choose the correct one to order for you. Having him/her show you how to insert it and remove it is essential to keep your gyn visits to a minimum.   Proper instructions should come with your pessary for cleaning. 

Many women do find that during different times of their cycle, the pessary will feel too small (causing it to slip) or too big (causing you some dicomfort). A great idea , if you find this to be your problem, is to order another one just a tad bigger(or smaller).  It is also recommended that if you gain or loose around 10lbs and you are experiencing problems with your pessary, you should  be refitted. 

Many women who are "prone" to prolapse do wear pessaries to work out. A great idea to possibly help from either getting a prolapse, or  to slow the process of a lower grade prolapse. Also a good idea for women who have had  a resuspension!   

                       Finding the Right Pessary For You

The following information has been compiled from the Milex Site.  You can visit them by clicking here. 

Here are some pictures of pessaries and their names. 

You can get more information from the link at the end of this page.

Various types of pessaries: (A) Ring, (B) Shaatz, (C) Gellhorn, (D) Gellhorn, (E) Ring with support, (F) Gellhorn, (G) Risser, (H) Smith, (I) Tandem cube, (J) Cube, (K) Hodge with knob, (L) Hodge, (M) Gehrung, (N) Incontinence dish with support, (O) Donut, (P) Incontinence ring, (Q) Incontinence dish, (R) Hodge with support, (S) Inflatoball (latex).

Below the  first line denotes the anotomical problem and  the second line is
the name of the pessary milex recommends for the problem.

STRESS INCONTINENCE
*incontinence ring - silicone flexible pessary (SFP)
looks like a thin ring with a bauble up the top.

STRESS INCONTINENCE WITH MILD PROLAPSE
*incontinence dish - SFP

STRESS INCONTINENCE with MILD PROLAPSE with MILD CYSTOCELE
*incontinence dish with support - SFP
(the dish is covered with two small holes

STRESS INCONTINENCE WHEN EXERCISING
*cube

STRESS INCONTINENCE FOR WOMAN WITH SMALL VAGINAL
INTROITUS/LIMITED PUBIC NOTCH
*hodge - SFP manually shapeable

STRESS INCONTINENCE WITH MILD CYSTOCELE FOR WOMAN WITH SMALL
VAGINAL INTROITUS/LIMITED PUBIC NOTCH
*hodge with support - SFP manually shapeable
(part of the pessary is covered for extra support)

CYSTOCELE AND RECTOCELE
*gehrung - manually shapeable

INCOMPETENT CERVIX
*hodge (as described above)

PROLAPSE 1ST OR 2ND DEGREE
*ring - SFP

PROLAPSE 1ST OR 2ND DEGREE COMPLICATED BY MILD CYSTOCELE
*ring with support - SFP OR
*shaatz - SFP effective esp. for patient who cannot wear ring
pessary

PROLAPSE 3RD DEGREE / PROCIDENTIA
*donut - silicone pessary
*gellhorn SFP or rigid silicone or rigid acrylic

PROLAPSE 3RD DEGREE / PROCIDENTIA WITH MILD CYSTOCELE OR
RECTOCELE
*inflatoball - natural latex rubber
permits individual adjustment as you can vary the amount of air
pressure within the pessary

PROLAPSE 3RD DEGREE / PROCIDENTIA AND/OR VAGINAL WALL PROLAPSE
*cube - SFP
note no area for drainage and needs to be removed nightly

OR
*tandem cube - SFP
as above looks like two cubes on top of each other and is used
when a single cube is unable to provide adequate support.

                                Links Related to Pessaries