title: Stress urinary incontinence: usefulness of perineal ultrasound.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Perineal ultrasound provides the most sensitive assessment of the degree of urethral mobility by measuring the pubo-urethral distance and angle. To evaluate whether these indices may be determinants of success in prosthetic surgery for stress urinary incontinence, we conducted a retrospective study of patients treated with tension-free vaginal tape-obturator (TVT-O) surgery and assessed, by measuring the pubo-urethral distance and angle after TVT-O, whether there was any quantitative difference between the mean values measured in the group of cured patients and uncured patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  We selected 51 patients who underwent TVT-O and evaluated the failure rate by means of urogynaecological assessment. We also measured, using perineal ultrasound, the mean values of the pubo-urethral distance and angle between the two groups of patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We recorded a difference in the average pubo-urethral distance of 3 mm ± 1.2 at rest and 2.7 mm ± 1.2 under stress and a difference in the average pubo-urethral angle of 13° ± 6.3° at rest and 8° ± 6.3° under stress between the two groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We obtained higher mean values of pubo-urethral distance and angle in uncured patients compared to those found in the group of cured patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynaecology, Obstetric and Reproductive Science, Second University of Studies of Naples, Largo Madonna delle Grazie 1, 80100, Naples, Italy, mt.s76@libero.it.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Torella
authors.forename: Pasquale
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: De Franciscis
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Russo
authors.forename: Pasquale
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gallo
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Grimaldi
authors.forename: Domenico
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ambrosio
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Colacurci
authors.forename: Maria Teresa
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Schettino
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010502:Perineum / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014463:Ultrasonography; D014550:Urinary Incontinence, Stress / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery*; D014563:Urodynamics