INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: The aim was to evaluate the long-term cure rates and the late complications of the tension-free vaginal tape (TVT). METHODS: One hundred and forty-seven women with stress incontinence underwent surgery at our clinic between 1994 and 1997. At the time of follow-up, 128 were alive, 104 attended an objective evaluation at the clinic, while 20 women were contacted by telephone for an extensive interview. Eighty-four percent were assessed in a retrospective study 10-13 (11.5) years post-operatively. The evaluation included a stress test and, if this test was positive, also a 24-h pad-weighing test, the same questionnaire about urinary symptoms as that used pre-operatively and a visual analogue scale. RESULTS: The objective cure rate was 84%. The subjective cure rate was 77%, while 18% had improved. Ninety-four percent of the patients were satisfied with the surgical result. No late adverse effects of the operation were found. CONCLUSIONS: The TVT procedure is effective and safe for more than 10 years.
INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: The aim was to evaluate the long-term cure rates and the late complications of the tension-free vaginal tape (TVT). METHODS: One hundred and forty-seven women with stress incontinence underwent surgery at our clinic between 1994 and 1997. At the time of follow-up, 128 were alive, 104 attended an objective evaluation at the clinic, while 20 women were contacted by telephone for an extensive interview. Eighty-four percent were assessed in a retrospective study 10-13 (11.5) years post-operatively. The evaluation included a stress test and, if this test was positive, also a 24-h pad-weighing test, the same questionnaire about urinary symptoms as that used pre-operatively and a visual analogue scale. RESULTS: The objective cure rate was 84%. The subjective cure rate was 77%, while 18% had improved. Ninety-four percent of the patients were satisfied with the surgical result. No late adverse effects of the operation were found. CONCLUSIONS: The TVT procedure is effective and safe for more than 10 years.
Authors: Giovanni A Tommaselli; Costantino Di Carlo; Carmen Formisano; Annamaria Fabozzi; Carmine Nappi Journal: Int Urogynecol J Date: 2015-05-20 Impact factor: 2.894
Authors: Jerry G Blaivas; Rajveer S Purohit; Matthew S Benedon; Gabriel Mekel; Michael Stern; Mubashir Billah; Kola Olugbade; Robert Bendavid; Vladimir Iakovlev Journal: Nat Rev Urol Date: 2015-08-18 Impact factor: 14.432