Objective To study the objective and subjective therapeutic effect of total and partial (LeFort) colpocleisis in treatment of severe pelvic organ prolapsed ( POP) in selected elderly patients.Methods From Oct 2005 to Feb.2010,63 severe POP patients[59-87 years,median age (75 ±6) years]with stage Ⅲ and Ⅳ by POP-Q system underwent total and partial colpocleisis.The mean age was (75 ±6)years (59-87 years).Fifty-eight patients(58/63,92% )present more than one kind of medical disease.There were 53 cases with uterus prolapse,1 case with cervix prolapse and 9 cases with vaginal vault prolapse.Seven patients were recurrent POP from previous surgery.Twenty-three patients(36% ) presentedvoiding difficulty.Seven patients (17%) presented obstructive bowel symptom.Three patients (5%) presented fecal incontinence,and 28 patients(44% )presented either had urinary incontinence or history of that Among 63 patients,48 patients (76% ) underwent total colpoclesis,and 15 (24% ) patients partial colpoclesis.Meanwhile,58 (92% ) patients underwent levator myorrhaphy plus perineorrhaphy and 20 (32% ) patients underwent anti-urinary incontinence procedure ( TVT-0 ),respectively.Patients were followed up to evaluate therapeutic effect at 2 months and 1 year after surgery.Objective evaluation included the POP-Q and the length of vagina,genital hiatus,perineal body.A nonvalidated Body Image and Satisfaction Questionnaire was completed for subjective evaluation.Results The mean operating time of 63 patients was (105 ±48) minutes,which was (128 ±58) in total and (82 ±26) minutes partial procedures,which exhibited significant difference(P<0.05).The mean blood loss was (187 ± 128) ml (50-600 ml),total and partial procedures caused (232 ± 159) and (101 ±54) ml,respectively,which also showed significant difference ( P < 0.05 ).No intraoperative injury or death occurred.The rate of postoperative complications was 5% (3/63).Mean follow-up time of 63 patients was 22.5 months (1-51 months).All patients had POP-Q staging score ≤Ⅰ.No recurrent patient was observed.At 1 year after operation,the mean preoperative total vaginal length (TVL) and genital hiatus (GH) of (7.7 ± 1.1) and (5.5 ± 1.5)cm were decreased to (3.4 ± 1'.l)and (2.3 ±0.5) cm (P<0.01) ;and perineal body (PB) measurements was increased from (2.6±0.9) to (3.4 ±0.9)cm(P <0.01).Three (5%,3/63) patients had mild urinary incontinence after the operation.Twenty-three patients with voiding difficulty presenting the mean postvoid residual volumes (110 ± 38) ml(50-235 ml) were decreased to 12 ml after the operation.Obstructive bowel symptom was improved in 6(54%,6/11) patients,and fecal incontinence improved in 2(2/3).One year after the operation,52 ( 82% ) patients completed the nonvalidated Body Image and Satisfaction Questionnaire.49 (94% ) patients said either 'very satisfied' or 'satisfied' with the outcome of their surgery,while 3 ( 6% ) reported unsatisfied or not at all satisfied.Conclusions The objective and subjective curative rates of colpocleisis in treatment of severe POP are high with lower morbidity and recurrence.Colpocleisis is a safe and effective management in selected elderly patients with severe POP,who no longer desire to maintain vaginal coital function.