Intravaginal sling: Analysis of outcomes and complications in 105 stress incontinent women

The aim of this prospective study was to evaluate the safety, efficacy and technique of the vaginal tape for the surgical treatment of stress urinary incontinence. 105 Libyan women suffering from genuine stress urinary incontinence grade II-III underwent the procedure in different Libyan centres. The mean age of these patients was 52 years, 89% of them were postmenopausal. 71% of the patients were operated with simple vaginal tapes whereas the rest were operated with other reconstructive procedures for the repair of genital prolapsed organs. The mean operation time was 24 minutes for midline retropubic tape and 19 minutes for transobturator tape (TOT). The median hospital stay for simple vaginal tape was only 1 day. The cure rate was 93.3% and 5.8% were significantly improved by the procedure. Intra- and postoperative complications were very few and included bladder perforations (3 patients), sub-urethral and retropubic haematoma (1 patient), urge incontinence (4 patients). No obturator nerve injury nor tape erosion were observed. We concluded that vaginal tapes for the treatment of stress urinary incontinence are associated with a higher cure rate and fewer complications than open and laparoscopic colposuspension. The strips reduce the operation time, simplify the procedure and lead to less recurrence.Transobturator tape (TOT) is easier, safer and consumes less operation time than midline retropubic vaginal tape (RPT).