VUE: Vault or Uterine prolapse study Evaluation

Two parallel randomised controlled trials of surgical options for upper compartment (uterine or vault) pelvic organ prolapse

Around 1 in 10 women will need prolapse surgery at some point in their lives. Prolapse occurs when the pelvic organs (such as the bladder, the bowel or the womb) come down into, or out of, the vagina. This is caused either by weakness of the connective tissues which normally support these organs or by weak pelvic floor muscles. It is most common in women who have had children, although there has been surprisingly little research into its causes and treatment. Women can have more than one type of prolapse.

There are many different operations for prolapse: the VUE study only concerns women with a uterine (womb) or vault (top of the vagina after a woman has had a hysterectomy (womb removed) previously) prolapse. To date, there is a high failure rate after surgery: a quarter of women who have had a hysterectomy will need vault repair later. Some women may need an extra procedure if the bladder (front wall of the vagina) or bowel (back wall of the vagina) is also coming down or for leaking urine (incontinence). If necessary, the extra proceudres can be carried out at the same time.

There is not enough evidence from research to identify which operation is best for these two types of prolapse. Many operations have been tried, but these have not been properly evaluated, especially in terms of how well they improve prolapse symptoms.

The study will be carried out in around 40 hospitals in the UK. We will randomise women having surgery for uterine or vault prolapse to one of two trials:

(1) Uterine trial: vaginal hysterectomy compared with an operation to suspend the uterus without removing it, and

(2) Vault trial: suspending the vault from below (the vaginal route) copmared with suspending it via the abdomen (tummy)

This is a UK Collaborative Study funded by the NIHR HTA Programme

COVID-19 update

We are continuing to keep in touch with the participants in the study. It may be that we are in touch with you by a different method than usual (for example we may telephone you to complete questionnaires, rather than send them by post). If you have any questions about the study, please get in touch on 01224 438174(and leave a message) or email vuetrial@abdn.ac.uk.

If you are a patient and require medical attention or advice, please contact your GP or NHS-111/NHS-24 (by dialling 111).

You can also find information about COVID-19 from the NHS websites in England ,Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

There is also information about COVID-19 on the UK government website.