Abstract
Ultrasonography is the most suitable imaging modality for visualizing polypropylene tapes and meshes. We describe ultrasonographic evaluation for tension-free vaginal tape (TVT) procedure for surgical treatment of female stress urinary incontinence, transvaginal mesh (TVM) surgery, and laparoscopic sacrocolpopexy (LSC) for surgical treatment of pelvic organ prolapse. We use a transabdominal convex probe for evaluating TVT surgery. An implanted tape is shown as a high echoic linear structure. When the tape is correctly implanted, it is located in the mid-urethra, parallel to the urethra in the sagittal section, and it surrounds the dorsal urethra in the coronal section. We use a transabdominal convex probe, a transvaginal probe, and a linear probe for evaluating TVM surgery. An implanted mesh is shown as a high echoic linear structure. When the mesh is correctly implanted, it is located in the pubocervical layer, with the anterior mesh extending from the bladder neck to the cervical neck, and the posterior mesh extending from the vaginal entrance to the cervical neck. We use a transabdominal convex probe, a transvaginal probe and a linear probe for evaluating LSC after supracervical hysterectomy. The implanted mesh is shown as a high echoic linear structure. When the mesh is correctly implanted, it is located in the pubocervical layer, with the anterior mesh extending from the bladder neck to the remaining cervical neck, and the posterior mesh extending from the vaginal entrance to the remaining cervical neck. As female pelvic floor surgery is being practiced more frequently, ultrasonography is becoming more and more important as a diagnostic tool.
