Pawel Szymanowski graduated medicine from the
Medical School of Hannover and then did a specialization in gynecology and
obstetrics in Germany where he worked for 15 years. He has been the head of
department since 2006. His main focus over the years and still to today is
urogynecology. In 2013 he moved to Poland where he has continued his work in
urogynecology and operative gynecology. He is currently the head of the
Department of Gynecology and Urogynecology at Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski Krakow
University. In May 2017 he became the President of the Polish Urogynecological
Association
More than 30% of women in the western world
suffer from different urogynecological diseases like urinary incontinence and
pelvic organ prolapse (POP). In cases of POP the most commonly used operative
procedure is still a hysterectomy with anterior and posterior colporrhaphy even
though the uterus is not the cause of the prolapse. Instead POP is a result of
different defects of fascia and ligaments in the pelvic floor. These defects
should be accurately detected and taken into account when planning operative
treatment. There are plenty of minimally invasive and uterus preserving
laparoscopic methods dedicated to these defects such as: laparoscopic hystero-,
colpo-, cervicosacropexy, pectopexy, laparoscopic lateral repair and
laparoscopic colporrhaphy. The use of minimally invasive, uterus preserving
methods in pelvic floor repair is less of a burden for the patients and reduces
the hospitalization time and recurrence rates immensely. Finally preserving the
uterus is also important for the sense of body integrity and helps to avoid
mental health problems