Stress incontinence in women; treatment by retropubic urethrovesical suspension.

Twenty-four retropubic urethrovesical suspension operations were performed in a five-year period. Twenty-one of the patients were satisfied with the results, although the objective success of the operation did not always correlate with subjective relief of symptoms. The commonest apparent cause for failure was the coincidence of urgency with stress incontinence, and the few true failures, due to secondary relaxation of the paraurethral supports, were often mitigated by compensatory learning on the part of the patients, many of whom remain blissfully unaware of the underlying weakness. The retropubic urethrovesical suspension operation is simple, effective, and free of complications. It is indicated as a primary procedure whenever a vaginal operation has failed to cure (or, worse, has caused) stress incontinence. It is advised as a complementary procedure for women with a secondary complaint of stress incontinence who must undergo laparotomy for other cause.