Tension-free vaginal tape procedure for the treatment of female stress urinary incontinence: Long-term results

Purpose: The tension-free transvaginal tape (TVT) procedure has apparently become the most popular technique for genuine stress urinary incontinence (GSUI). Long-term followup data on the outcome of the procedure are sparse. We evaluated the long-term results of TVT for treating women with GSUI. Materials and Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of the records of 55 patients 37 to 83 years old (mean age 63.4) with GSUI, for which they underwent the TVT procedure at our department as of December 1999. Results: Of the 52 patients who were followed a mean of 55 months (range 48 to 65) 41 (78.9%) were dry. There were 4 intraoperative complication (7.3%), including bladder injury in 3 patients and urethral injury in 1. None required surgical re-intervention. Urgency was reported in 6 women (11.5%). There were 5 postoperative tape related complications (9.6%), consisting of bladder erosion in 1 woman, vaginal erosion in 2 and an obstructed urethra in 2. Four of these 5 women underwent corrective surgery, after which all remained dry. Conclusions: TVT is a safe and effective procedure for female stress urinary incontinence with an enduring, high success rate. There is a significant rate of intraoperative complications, which do not cause further problems when identified and treated during surgery. One must be alert to the significant rate of postoperative complications that usually require repeat surgery, which is relatively simple and causes practically no long-term morbidity. It also does not influence the continence rate in most cases.