Introduction and hypothesis: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can evaluate individual components of postsurgical recurrent prolapse that may not be visible on physical examination and provide insights into mechanisms of prolapse recurrence.
Methods: This planned prospective secondary imaging analysis at nine clinical sites performed in the Study of Uterine Prolapse Procedures-Randomized (SUPeR) trial of the National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD) Pelvic Floor Disorders Network (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01802281) randomized 183 women to native tissue repair (NTR-hysterectomy) or vaginal mesh repair (VM-hysteropexy) for uterovaginal prolapse, and assessed for surgical failure. A subset of participants who enrolled in Defining Mechanisms of Anterior Vaginal Wall Descent (DEMAND) underwent MRI at rest, maximal strain, and post-strain rest (recovery) 30-42 months after surgery or prior to 30 months if undergoing reoperation for recurrence.
Results: Of the 88 participants analyzed (aged 65 ± 7.7 years), 22 (25.0%) had surgical failure by clinical criteria, 8/45 (17.8%) VM-hysteropexy; 14/43 (32.6%) NTR-hysterectomy, p = 0.14. Larger genital hiatus (H-line, 86.5 mm vs 72.3 mm, p = 0.003), low posterior position during strain (M-line, 55.6 mm vs 40.3 mm, p = 0.005), and apical compartments (vaginal apex position below pubococcygeal line (PCL), 42.1 mm vs 13.1 mm, p < 0.001) were associated with failure vs success after VM-hysteropexy. In the NTR-hysterectomy group, failures demonstrated greater vaginal width (46.3 mm vs 41.3 mm, p = 0.04), vaginal circumference (108.5 mm vs 96.1 mm, p = 0.03), and bladder descent vs successes.
Conclusions: Pelvic MRI parameters associated with surgical failure vs success varied between VM-hysteropexy and vaginal hysterectomy.
Keywords: 2-D MRI; Native tissue vaginal hysterectomy; Pelvic organ prolapse; Prolapse surgery; Transvaginal mesh hysteropexy.
© 2026. The Author(s).