Endoscopic vesicourethropexy for stress urinary incontinence. Experience at the Medical Center Hospital of Vermont.

Forty-eight women with stress urinary incontinence underwent endoscopic vesicourethropexy between December, 1978, and December, 1982, at the Medical Center Hospital of Vermont or its affiliates. Four patients were lost to follow-up within six weeks, and 44 patients were followed for four to forty-one months. The overall success rate was 79.2 per cent. Failures occurred as late as fourteen months. The major complication rate was 33.3 per cent. Major complications included suprapubic abscess formation and prolonged urinary retention for up to six months. Though an obviously effective therapy for the correction of stress urinary incontinence, our success with endoscopic vesicourethropexy is less than that generally reported. Further, the incidence and nature of postoperative complications in our series provoke a greater awareness of the potential shortcomings of this procedure.