Anterior vaginal wall relaxation (cystocele) is one of the most commonly diagnosed forms of pelvic organ prolapse in women. More than 200,000 cystocele repairs are completed yearly, however to date the procedures that are completed do not provide very high cure rates and/or poor anatomic outcomes. Successful treatment of anterior vaginal wall prolapse remains one of the most challenging aspects of pelvic reconstructive surgery we face. We have developed very good procedures that provide excellent support for the posterior wall (ie rectoceles) and the apex of the vagina (ie vaginal vault prolapse) and reproduce normal anatomy. We were one of the first centers in the country to utilize grafts in rectocele repairs and have seen improved cure rates to over 90% with minimal complications. It has been known for many years that abdominal sacralcolpopexy with placement of a mesh graft at the top of the vagina for vaginal vault prolapse is the most successful procedure in the literature. We have made advancements with this procedure as well in being able to offer our patients a laparoscopic minimally invasive approach for sacralcolpopexy, with the same excellent cure rates (>92%) and with hospital stays typically less than 24 hours and reduced complications. However the anterior wall has been one of the most difficult compartments in the vagina to get good anatomic results and high cure rates with traditional repairs and at the same time not cause sexual dysfunction, pain with intercourse, voiding dysfunction (ie incontinence or urgency/frequency syndrome), or a shortened or scarred down vagina. The transobturator approach was developed as a less invasive way to place an anterior wall graft (see below) however this still involved blind needle passes and the graft did not support the apex of the vagina, therefore the search for improvements in these procedures is ongoing.

Drs. Moore and Miklos are very excited to be one of the first centers in the US to offer the next step in minimally invasive treatment for Stress Urinary Incontinence, the single incision Mini-sling. The procedure utilizes the same concepts of the tension-free tape mid-urethral slings, however only one incision is needed and the procedure can be completed in as little as 5-10 minutes under local anesthesia.

The procedure was initially released in September of 2006 by Gynecare with a procedure called the TVT-Secure and Dr Miklos and Moore were some of the first surgeons to evaluate and study the procedure. They liked the concept of a single incision sling, however were not enthused by the engineering and design of the Secure sling. In early 2007, with development input from Dr Moore and Miklos, American Medical Systems made several improvements to the procedure and in April, Dr Moore was the first surgeon in the United States to place the Mini-Arc mini-sling. Dr Moore’s and Miklos’s center in Atlanta, because of their reputation of being world leader’s in treatment for Stress Urinary Incontinence, was chosen as the lead center in the USA to evaluate and study the Mini-Arc procedure. Dr Moore was chosen as principal investigator, leading 5 centers in the USA and the world, to study and present the initial results in the USA, which have been excellent and very exciting!