Assessment of the long-term outcome of TVT procedure for stress urinary incontinence in a female population: results at 17years' follow-up

Introduction and hypothesisTo assess the outcome of the tension-free vaginal tape (TVT) procedure in female patients with urodynamic stress urinary incontinence at 17years follow-up.MethodsWe carried out a prospective study at the 2nd Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Aretaieio Hospital, University of Athens, Greece. Patients who had undergone a TVT procedure 17years ago. The follow-up assessment included gynecological examination, urinalysis, cough stress test in the lithotomy and/or upright position, filling and voiding cystometry, and uroflow. Also, all patients were required to complete the Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire (PSQ).ResultsOut of the 61 initial patients, 56 were available for follow-up. Objective cure rate was 83.9% (47/56) at 17years follow-up. Subjective cure rate was 78.6% (44/56), subjective improvement was 8.9%, and failure rate was 12.5%. Frequency was present in 39.3% of patients, overactive bladder symptoms were present in 30.3% of patients and urge urinary incontinence was reported by 12.5% of patients. Difficulty emptying the bladder was reported by 10 patients (17.8%) and recurrent urinary tract infection was seen in 3.5% of patients. There was one case of TVT erosion to the vaginal mucosa, which was managed conservatively.ConclusionsThe TVT procedure for the management of stress urinary incontinence in women maintains its efficacy in the long term, having an objective cure rate of 83.9% and a subjective cure rate of 78.6% at 17years' follow-up, with a very low complications rate.