Pelvic floor support

We are one of the only centers in the region with a team dedicated to female pelvic floor conditions. Our focus on disorders like bladder and bowel control issues and pelvic organ prolapse enables us to provide specialized care. At Penn Medicine, you have access to urogynecologists with expertise in pelvic floor conditions. Urogynecologists train as obstetrician-gynecologists or urologists and then specialize with additional training in female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery.

We have expertise in advanced techniques and minimally invasive surgical approaches, including robotic surgery, as well as non-surgical therapies. Our pelvic floor support team includes specialists in urogynecology, physical therapists, and nurses who offer compassionate care tailored to your needs.

Understanding pelvic support issues

Your pelvic organs are held in place by connective tissue, ligaments, and muscles. Conditions like pregnancy, childbirth, and menopause can stretch or weaken these tissues, causing the organs they support to sag into your vagina. This condition, pelvic organ prolapse, can lead to discomfort and problems with urinary and bowel incontinence.

Our specialists provide a thorough evaluation and diagnosis of your condition, so you can begin treatment and feel relief quickly. Diagnosis begins with a physical exam and an internal pelvic exam to check your pelvic organs.

Advanced diagnostic testing

If we need more information to determine the cause of your symptoms, our team offers state-of-the-art diagnostic tests, including:

• Electromyography (EMG) testing of the pelvic floor muscles
• Pelvic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
• Pelvic ultrasound

Pelvic floor support services at Penn Medicine

At Penn Medicine, our team of pelvic health specialists offers a range of effective surgical and non-surgical treatments. We tailor your care plan to your unique condition.

Non-surgical pelvic floor treatments

Our team offers the latest non-surgical pelvic floor treatment options. We may recommend:

• Biofeedback, which uses electric sensors to measure your pelvic floor muscle function
• Kegel exercises for strengthening pelvic floor muscles
• Vaginal devices (pessaries) to support pelvic organs
• Vaginal laser therapy to improve vaginal atrophy symptoms

Pelvic floor therapy

Pelvic floor therapy at Penn Medicine is led by highly trained physical therapists from Good Shepherd Penn Partners. They create a customized treatment plan to help you strengthen your pelvic floor muscles, manage your symptoms, and reduce the discomfort of a pelvic floor disorder. We also offer specialized support for pregnant and postpartum people.

Our pelvic floor rehabilitation and urogynecologic behavioral therapy services include:

• Bladder training
• Electrical stimulation
• Exercises for the pelvic floor, abdominal, back, leg, and hip muscles
• Lifestyle management strategies
• Manual techniques
• Patient education
• Pelvic floor muscle training and biofeedback

Surgical options for pelvic floor disorders

If non-surgical therapies for pelvic floor disorders like prolapse fail to help, we offer minimally invasive urogynecological surgery to correct your condition. Procedures include laparoscopic surgery and robotic surgery, which use tiny incisions and reduce your recovery time. State-of-the-art robotic-assisted pelvic reconstruction surgery enables our surgeons to operate with greater precision. We can also perform prolapse repair through the vagina with no visible abdominal incisions. We offer pelvic organ prolapse procedures that use your own tissue, donor tissue, or surgical material when appropriate.

Our surgeons also repair fistulas, abnormal connections that can form between the vagina and urinary organs or rectum.

Postpartum pelvic floor recovery program

Penn Medicine’s Postpartum Pelvic Floor Recovery Program offers comprehensive care for pelvic problems that occur during or after delivery. We can treat pelvic conditions or injuries immediately after childbirth or years later.

Our postpartum recovery services include:

• Advanced wound healing for complex perineal tears that occur during delivery
• Comprehensive treatment for urinary incontinence and bowel incontinence
• Reconstructive surgery to repair vaginal or anal tears or remove obstructive scar tissue
• Referrals to a psychologist specializing in maternal mental health for individual or group counseling
• Self-care techniques, including home wound care and scar mobilization to reduce scar tissue
• Referrals to pelvic floor physical therapy to help manage symptoms of muscle weakness and pelvic organ prolapse
• Testing and counseling to help women prepare for future deliveries