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).

PATIENTS AND 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.

CONCLUSION: 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.