Outcome following TVT sling procedure: a comparison of outcome recorded by surgeons to that reported by their patients at a London district general hospital.
OBJECTIVE
Retrospective study to assess patient satisfaction rates after TVT sling procedure for stress urinary incontinence (SUI), and comparison of these results to the post-operative progress documented by the surgeons in the clinical notes.


METHODS
All TVT sling cases at our institution during February 1999 to December 2002 were included. Data was collected from clinical notes on post-operative outcome as recorded by the surgeons, and a patient satisfaction questionnaire was used to assess patients' perception of their progress.


RESULTS
The response rate to the patient satisfaction questionnaire was 72%. Overall 94% of the patients were satisfied with the procedure. However, they reported cure rates of only 44%. This is comparable to the 46% cure rates documented by the surgeons.


CONCLUSIONS
The surgeons' and the patients' perceptions regarding outcome and change in symptoms after TVT sling for SUI at our hospital, correlate well. Hence, the documentation in the clinical notes by the surgeons can be relied upon as an accurate representation of post-operative patient progress. Despite the relatively low cure rates (44-46%) for SUI with TVT sling procedure, the patient satisfaction rates with the outcome are high (94%), reiterating that there is a poor correlation between quality of life impairment and the concept of cure.
Munir
Nazia
N
Department of Urology, Barnet General Hospital, Wellhouse Lane, Barnet, London EN5 3DJ, UK. munirnazia@hotmail.com
Bunce
Colin
C
Gelister
James
J
Briggs
Timothy
T
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006769:Hospitals, General / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008131:London; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011184:Postoperative Period; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D019919:Prosthesis Implantation / Q000295:instrumentation*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013526:Surgical Mesh; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014550:Urinary Incontinence, Stress / Q000523:psychology / Q000601:surgery*; D013520:Urologic Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D014621:Vagina / Q000601:surgery