Outcome of the use of tension-free vaginal tape in women with mixed urinary incontinence, previous failed surgery, or low valsalva pressure.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the safety and efficacy of the use of tension-free vaginal tape (TVT) for the treatment of stress urinary incontinence (SUI) in women with mixed incontinence, previous failed incontinence surgery or low valsalva leak point pressure (VLPP).


METHODS
Six hundred and fifty-eight women with SUI underwent the TVT procedure. These included women with mixed stress and urge incontinence (n=128), previous surgery for SUI (n=118), low VLPP (n=80), and those over 70 years old (n=68). The procedure was carried out under spinal anesthetic and operative and immediate postoperative data was collected for all women. Six-month follow-up data was available on 454 women, with the first 300 women completing a quality of life (QOL) questionnaire before and after surgery.


RESULTS
The overall subjective cure rate at 6 months was 91%, with 8% of women reporting significant (>50%) improvement in their symptoms. Subgroups with a body mass index > 30, age > 70 years, coexisting instability, previous failed surgery, and low VLPP showed cure rates of 81-89%. QOL improvements for all groups were highly significant. Significant complications included voiding difficulties in 29 women (4.4%), retropubic hematomas in four (0.6%), and thromboembolic episodes in three (0.5%).


CONCLUSIONS
The simplicity and high efficacy of the TVT makes it the first choice for the treatment of women with SUI, including those with more complex problems or coexisting risk factors.
Abdel-Hady
El-Said
el-S
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Mansoura University Teaching Hospital, Mansoura, Egypt. elsaidhady@yahoo.co.uk
Constantine
Glyn
G
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D011788:Quality of Life; D012086:Reoperation / Q000379:methods; D013526:Surgical Mesh; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013536:Suture Techniques; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014550:Urinary Incontinence, Stress / Q000601:surgery*; D013520:Urologic Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods; D014621:Vagina / Q000601:surgery*; D014636:Valsalva Maneuver / Q000502:physiology