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Landmark 10-year clinical study finds lasting benefit for women with two distinct pelvic organ prolapse surgeries

Highlights
  • RTI served as data coordinating center for randomized clinical trial on two surgical options to treat uterovaginal prolapse
  • Both approaches showed lasting improvements in quality of life
  • Lower treatment failure rates with vaginal mesh hysteropexy compared to vaginal hysterectomy with uterosacral ligament suspension


RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. — RTI International, an independent scientific research institute, served as the data coordinating center for a study published in JAMA Surgery showing that two surgical approaches can provide lasting benefits for postmenopausal women with symptomatic uterovaginal prolapse.

The decade-long Study of Uterine Prolapse Procedures Randomized Trial (SUPeR) followed women undergoing one of two commonly used surgeries, one that preserves the uterus, vaginal mesh hysteropexy (hysteropexy), and another that removes it, vaginal hysterectomy with uterosacral ligament suspension (hysterectomy). Researchers compared efficacy and adverse events and found that the hysteropexy procedure resulted in fewer overall treatment failures compared with hysterectomy.

The study was conducted through the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Pelvic Floor Disorders Network, a collaborative research initiative established in 2001 to advance the understanding and treatment of pelvic floor disorders in women.

“Long-term research studies like this are critical for helping patients and clinicians make informed decisions,” said Dr. Marie Gantz, who leads the Network’s Data Coordinating Center. “Understanding how these procedures perform over time can help ensure care aligns with patient expectations and preferences.”

The study included 175 participants who were in the primary analysis at a minimum of three years’ follow-up, with almost two-thirds continuing through extended follow-up. Study participants were enrolled at nine clinical sites between April 2013 and February 2015 with follow-up data collected through November 2025.

Over the 10-year period, about 40% of participants who received hysteropexy experienced treatment failure, compared with 53% of those who underwent hysterectomy. Despite these differences, patients in both groups reported meaningful symptom relief and improved quality of life. 

Read the full study in JAMA Surgery

Learn more about RTI’s coordinating center capabilities 

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