Efficacy of the VIRTUE male quadratic sling in the treatment of stress urinary incontinence: A retrospective study

Aim. - To assess the efficacy and the impact on the quality of life (QoL) of patients suffering stress urinary incontinence (SUI) treated with VIRTUE (C) sling. Material and method. - Retrospective monocenteric study where patients treated with VIRTUE (C) sling were included between January 2016 and May 2018. The severity of the incontinence was judged based on the number of protection used per day (PPD) and/or on the 24 hours pad test into mild, moderate and severe: >= 2 protections and/or < 100 ml/24 h, 3-4 protections and/or 101-200 ml/24 h, > 4 protections and/or > 200 ml/24 h respectively. The criteria of success was achieved when the patient is dry or ameliorated. The ICIQ- UI sf questionnaire was used as a measure of QoL. Results. - Thirty-five patients were included in this study with mean follow up time of 11 months (range: 3-26). Twenty-nine patients had a radical prostatectomy, 3 had endoscopic treatment for benign prostatic hyperplasia, 9 patient had radiotherapy of which one had a complementary focal treatment (HIFU), and two patients had spinal cord injury. The success rate was 83%. The score IC1Q-U1 sf showed a statistical difference between the pre and post-operative periods in both success and failure groups (P< 0.001). History of radiotherapy, low bladder compliance, and severe incontinence were associated with negative result. Pain was the most recorded post-operative complication and no > grade 2 Clavien Dindo complications were encountered. Conclusion. - The VIRTUE (C) sling seems to be an effective, safe tool treating SUI at short term. (C) 2019 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.