Pelvic Floor Disorder Treatments

Pelvic Floor Disorder Treatments

  • Overview
  • Appointments
  • Physical Therapy
  • Non-surgical
  • Surgical
  • Locations
  • Doctors

    • Each patient’s treatment is individualized based on her own personal situation, needs and lifestyle goals. We offer a coordinated approach to improve symptom control and improve quality of life. Your providers will work with you to find the treatment that is right for you. 

    Treatment can include:

    Occasionally, the treatment options offered to a woman with pelvic organ dysfunction depend on the training and experience of the surgeon. The benefit to choosing a comprehensive treatment program like the Urogynecology Program is that every available treatment option is offered, when appropriate. Our board-certified Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery (FPMRS) subspecialists have deep experience with the full range of treatment options for women with pelvic floor disorders and will work together with you to find the right option.

    Appointment Information

    To schedule an appointment or learn more about the Urogynecology Program, please call 734-763-6295.

    Urogynecology Program

    The U-M Health Urogynecology Program provides comprehensive surgical and non-surgical services for women suffering from any form of pelvic floor disorders.

    Learn about the Urogynecology Program

    Physical Therapy

    Physical therapy can help women with pelvic floor disorders improve the strength and function of their pelvic floor muscles. PT techniques that are often used for women with pelvic floor disorders include:

    • Pelvic-floor relaxation/strength training
    • Bladder/bowel retraining
    • Exercises designed to stretch/strengthen different muscles, including the diaphragm
    • Manual therapy
    • Improvement/restoration of joint movement
    • Biofeedback/electrical stimulation/pressure therapy

    Our team includes specialists from the U-M Health Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation program with cutting-edge expertise in designing exercise and rehab regimens to treat pelvic disorders. Your program will be tailored to you.

    Don’t live in Ann Arbor? No problem. We work with a network of PT providers with special expertise in working with women with pelvic disorders throughout the state of Michigan so that you are able to receive therapy conveniently close to home.

    Non-surgical Treatments

    We offer several non-surgical therapies that can be performed during a standard office visit.  These often serve as a temporary measure before surgery, or can resolve the problem without surgery.

    • Pessaries are devices that are inserted into the vagina to support the pelvic organs. After some brief training with your physician, a woman can usually take the pessary out and reinsert it herself. Pessaries are used to treat prolapse, incontinence or both. When fit properly, they are comfortable and don’t cause infections.
    • Bladder injections featuring neurotoxins (like Botox) are injected into the muscle that lines the wall of the bladder and can help treat overactive bladder symptoms when they don’t improve with simpler treatments.
    • Urethral bulking agents are injected at the intersection of the bladder and urethra to reduce urine leakage with exercise (i.e. stress urinary incontinence). You’ll leave the office leaking less and ready to get right back into life’s activities.
    • Nerve stimulation sends small electrical pulses from a nerve near the tibial nerve in the ankle to the sacral nerve to help control urination urgency, frequency, and incontinence.

    Surgical Treatments

    For patients for whom non-surgical therapies don’t provide desired relief, we offer a full spectrum of short-stay surgical procedures, including laparoscopic and robotic-assisted surgery.

    We will work with you to determine what procedure is right for your individual needs, factoring in your lifestyle and health history. Please ask questions of your surgeon and be upfront with your concerns so that we can factor everything into the decision. We also offer special expertise in complex pelvic reconstruction procedures and surgeries to fix complications from prior procedures. 

    Multiple different types of surgical approaches are available:

    Vaginal surgery has a faster recovery time, no incisions, and causes less pain and blood loss than an abdominal surgery. Some types of vaginal surgery can be done without mesh, using dissolvable sutures to attach the top part of the vagina to a ligament deep in the buttocks. Women typically are able to go home the following morning from surgery with little pain.

    Robotic-assisted laparoscopic surgery, performed through small incisions with the use of a telescope camera, allows for faster healing and shorter hospital stays in place of larger incisions that were previously used. Our experience with robotic surgery has shown that patients experience less pain and scarring, lose less blood, are at less risk of wound infections and return to normal activities more quickly compared to traditional open surgeries.

    Abdominal surgery is performed through an abdominal incision, has a longer recovery time and generally causes more discomfort than vaginal surgeries, but may be your only option due to anatomy or other existing conditions. We can still use the smallest incision possible.
    • Incontinence surgeries done via the vaginal approach
    • Repair of bladder or bowel vaginal prolapse done through the vaginal opening without the use of mesh
    • Vaginal hysterectomy and support of the vaginal canal
    • Surgeries to repair prolapse but keep the uterus intact
    • Repair of fistula connections between the vagina and other organs
    • Robotic-assisted sacrocolpopexy to repair vaginal prolapse

    Locations
    • Obstetrics & Gynecology Clinic | Chelsea Professional Office Building Floor 1 Ste 101
      Chelsea Multispecialty Clinic
      Chelsea, MI 48118-1801       Get Directions
    • Obstetrics & Gynecology Specialty Clinic | Brighton Center for Specialty Care 7500 Challis Rd
      Entrance 1, Level 2
      Brighton, MI 48116-9416       Get Directions
    • Obstetrics & Gynecology Specialty Clinic | Northville Health Center 39901 Traditions Dr
      Floor 2
      Northville, MI 48168-9493       Get Directions
    • Obstetrics & Gynecology Specialty Clinic | West Ann Arbor Health Center-Parkland Plaza 380 Parkland Plaza Ste 210
      Floor 2
      Ann Arbor, MI 48103-6201       Get Directions
    • Women's Clinic | Von Voigtlander Women's Hospital 1540 E Hospital Dr
      Floor 9
      Ann Arbor, MI 48109-4276       Get Directions

    Doctors

     Search for a U-M Health doctor     Mary Fleming Ackenbom, MD

    Mary Fleming Ackenbom, MD

    Clinical Associate Professor

    Obstetrics & Gynecology, Female Pelvic Medicine & Reconstructive Surg

    John O. De Lancey, MD

    John O De Lancey, MD

    Professor

    Female Pelvic Medicine & Reconstructive Surgery, Obstetrics & Gynecology

    Michigan Photo

    Pamela Susan Fairchild, MD

    Clinical Associate Professor

    Female Pelvic Medicine & Reconstructive Surgery, Obstetrics & Gynecology

    Dee Ellen Fenner, MD

    Dee Ellen Fenner, MD

    Professor

    Female Pelvic Medicine & Reconstructive Surgery, Obstetrics & Gynecology

    Christopher Hong, MD

    Christopher Hong, MD

    Clinical Assistant Professor

    Obstetrics & Gynecology, Female Pelvic Medicine & Reconstructive Surgery

    Daniel McBurney Morgan, MD

    Daniel McBurney Morgan, MD

    Clinical Professor

    Female Pelvic Medicine & Reconstructive Surgery, Obstetrics & Gynecology

    Megan O'Brien Schimpf, MD, MHSA

    Clinical Professor

    Female Pelvic Medicine & Reconstructive Surgery, Obstetrics & Gynecology

    Payton Claire Schmidt, MD

    Payton Claire Schmidt, MD

    Clinical Assistant Professor

    Female Pelvic Medicine & Reconstructive Surgery, Obstetrics & Gynecology

    News & Stories
    cup sample with orange top in front of toilet
    Health Lab

    Urine-based test detects aggressive prostate cancer

    Researchers at have validated a previously developed urine test, which can potentially bypass invasive procedures for prostate cancer detection among men who are unlikely to benefit. 
         family with dog outside
    Health Lab

    How donor eggs helped one couple build the family they always hoped for

    After learning her chances with her own eggs were low, a Michigan mom turned to donor egg IVF at the U-M Health Center for Reproductive Medicine.
         ferility pink moving time clocks vials pregnancy test baby outline
    Health Lab

    What causes infertility? A doctor answers common questions and clears up misconceptions

    For fertility, timing and age to stress and lifestyle all play a factor. Here, a Michigan Medicine fertility doctor explains what impacts your chances of getting pregnant and when to get help.
         silhouette of pregnant woman black on grey background with white background behind the body glowing
    Health Lab

    Maternal deaths rose during pandemic, remain elevated for Black women, study finds

    Pregnancy-related, maternal deaths in the United States increased sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the greatest impact seen among Black women, a new study suggests.
    Health Lab

    Perimenopause and heart health: What you need to know

    This article features experts from Michigan Medicine as part of a month-long effort to raise awareness about heart disease and empower people to protect their heart health. 
         drawing of couple with baby on blanket in between them on ground
    Health Lab

    Insurance that covers male infertility procedures improves opportunities for family building

    President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order dedicated to improving and expanding in vitro fertilization care for couples across the United States. A new paper published by the University of Michigan finds that including male infertility care in health insurance coverage mandates is associated with more births; this one was to assist couples having trouble to conceive.