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Since many patients ask some of the same questions, we have created this Q&A page. You may peruse the questions that have already been asked, or you may submit a question below and check back to see if you answer has been posted. If you would like a SECURE CONSULTATION with Dr. Alinsod Click here for SECURE ON-LINE CONSULTATION.

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My family is complete and my husband and I are done having babies. As can be expected, things are not the same in my private parts since childbirth. Can a leaky bladder and fallen vaginal organs be repaired and tightened at the same time? Is surgery my only option? Why type of surgeons are able to do these aesthetic vaginal surgeries?

I hear this complaint daily. Moms are facing the effects of childbirth trauma, the pull of gravity and the stretch of aging. Moms are leaking urine with every laugh, cough, sneeze or jump. They have uncontrollable urges to go to the bathroom and often don’t make it on time, soiling their underwear along the way. They feel a fullness and heaviness in their pelvis and feel chronically constipated. They even have to push on their vaginal area to get their stools out. Many even feel or see a bulge coming out of their vaginas. Not a very glamorous reward for bearing children. This often resulted in loss of intimacy and femininity. In the past, women lived entire lifetimes with these symptoms and hesitated to discuss these problems with their physicians. Often their doctors would not feel comfortable or knowledgeable in suggesting a treatment plan other than “Do your Kegels!” Even when surgery was advised, women knew of the high failure rates of traditional gynecologic procedures, such as a “bladder lift,” and chose to forgo the multiple painful surgeries and prolonged hospitalizations. Vaginal plugs called pessaries were tried to keep the internal organs from falling out. Sometimes it worked, but often times it failed. More often than not, the lady did not want to place a rubber device internally. No one wanted to be passed along from family practice doctor to gynecologist to urologist to colorectal surgeon to plastic surgeon. Chasing around your kids did not allow time for all those doctor visits. Fortunately, things have changed over the past decade. Gynecologists learned urology. Urologists learned gynecology. The subspecialty of urogynecology was born and aesthetic vaginal surgery became mainstream. A scant handful of urogynecologists are trained in aesthetic vaginal surgery and a careful look into each surgeon’s credentials is paramount. Once found, that single specialist is able to handle incontinence problems with the use of minimally invasive “slings,” repair fallen bladders and rectums with modern meshes, suspend or remove prolapsed uterus and correct the disfigurement caused by traumatic childbirth or genetics in a cosmetically pleasing manner. You can feel feminine again! —Red M. Alinsod, MD