The value of urodynamic testing in stress urinary incontinence.

Preoperative urodynamic testing for the identification of specific types of urinary incontinence was found useful to select an appropriate operative procedure. Failure of the operation to relieve stress incontinence was unusual in 346 patients followed for a minimum of 2 years. Of the total group of patients with stress incontinence 27 per cent also had detrusor instability identified urodynamically preoperatively. However, identification of the syndrome is of limited prognostic significance since the majority of these patients had no difficulty with the syndrome postoperatively and some other patients appeared to have the syndrome only postoperatively.