Short-term assessment of a tension-free vaginal tape for treating female stress urinary incontinence.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the short-term surgical complications and results of a tension-free vaginal tape (TVT) system (TVT-Secur, Gynecare, Ethicon, Somerville, NJ, USA) in the treatment of female stress urinary incontinence (SUI).


METHODS
TVT-Secur was applied to 107 women with SUI through a vaginal incision and left abutting the urethra. Postoperative pain, complications, de novo lower urinary tract symptoms, incontinence cure rate and the King's Health Questionnaire (KHQ) score were evaluated.


RESULTS
The operative duration was 12 min; the mean pain score was 2.3 and only one patient had transient voiding difficulties. After a mean follow-up of 15 months, 71% of the patients were dry and 14% improved. The KHQ scores decreased significantly for most subscores. Urgency appeared de novo in six patients (5.6%), and vaginal erosion required one TVT-Secur explantation.


CONCLUSIONS
This study shows that TVT-Secur is a simple and safe treatment for female SUI, but before recommending this sling as a first choice for treating SUI, TVT-Secur must pass the test of time and comparative studies with conventional slings.
Oliveira
Rui
R
Hospital de São João, Serviço de Urologia, Porto, Portugal.
Silva
André
A
Pinto
Rui
R
Silva
João
J
Silva
Carlos
C
Guimarães
Miguel
M
Dinis
Paulo
P
Cruz
Francisco
F
D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D008875:Middle Aged; D010147:Pain Measurement; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000209:etiology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D053825:Suburethral Slings / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000592:standards*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014550:Urinary Incontinence, Stress / Q000601:surgery*