Endoscopic suspension of the vesical neck for urinary incontinence in females. Report on 203 consecutive patients.

The key to restoring urinary continence in the female is to raise the internal vesical neck of the bladder to a position behind the symphysis pubis. The operation which accomplishes this with the least morbidity, the most accuracy and the greatest permanency is endoscopic suspension; it is particularly applicable in patients with obesity, multiple operative failures, radiation incontinence, and severe pelvic fractures. Between December 1973 and May 1979, 203 patients underwent 211 operations with a minimum of six months of follow-up study at final review (November 1979). Twenty per cent of the patients were totally incontinent on referral, and 60 per cent lost urine with minimal activity; only 20 per cent of the patients had typical stress urinary incontinence, requiring coughing or sneezing to lose urine. Among the 203 patients, there were 188 previous operations for urinary incontinence, including 74 Marshall-Marchetti retropubic repairs. Forty-seven patients have been followed for over four years, and 156 patients have been followed for six months to four years. While 138 patients had a previous hysterectomy, 65 patients had not; the presence of the uterus did not affect the results. Urinary incontinence is not an indication for hysterectomy. Ninety-one per cent of the 203 patients were cured of their urinary incontinence by endoscopic suspension of the vesical neck. Technical advantages over the retropubic vesical neck suspensions include the use of monofilament heavy nylon (No. 2), a vaginally placed Dacron((R)) buttress to prevent tearing of the pubocervical fascia, less postoperative morbidity, minimal blood loss, functional measurements and anatomic visualization of a restored vesical neck during the operative procedure, easy access to a surgically difficult pelvis, and simultaneous repair of significant rectoceles or substantial cystoceles through the same operative field.