Long-term re-procedure rate after mid-urethral slings for stress urinary incontinence.

Long-term safety concerns have risen over the mid-urethral sling operation (MUS) for stress urinary incontinence (SUI), which in some countries has led to litigations and even suspending MUS insertions. We examined the long-term re-procedure rate after MUS operations. The main outcome was re-procedures for SUI. The secondary outcome was surgical interventions due to complications.

We analysed a retrospective population cohort of 3531 women with MUS operations in 2000-2006 and followed them up until 31 December 2016. Data were collected from a national hospital register and from hospital patient records.

The median follow-up time was 13 years (IQR 11.6-14.8) for the 3280 women with a retropubic MUS (RP-MUS) and 11 years (IQR 10.3-11.9) for the 245 women with a transobturator MUS (TO-MUS). The cumulative number of re-procedures for SUI was 16 (0.5%) at 1 year, 66 (1.9%) at 5 years, 97 (2.8%) at 10 years and 112 (3.2%) at 17 years. This risk was higher after TO-MUS than after RP-MUS operations (OR 3.6, 95% CI 2.5-5.2, p < 0.001). The cumulative number of any long-term re-procedure was 43 (1.2%) at year 1, 105 (3.0%) at year 5, 144 (4.1%) at year 10 and 163 (4.6%) at year 17.

Re-procedures occur up to 17 years after primary MUS insertion, but their incidence is low after the first few postoperative years. Re-procedures for recurrent SUI are more common after TO-MUS than RP-MUS.

International urogynecology journal. 2020 Jan 20 [Epub ahead of print]

Sari Tulokas, Päivi Rahkola-Soisalo, Mika Gissler, Tomi S Mikkola, Maarit J Mentula

Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, PO Box 140, 00029, Helsinki, Finland., National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), 00300, Helsinki, Finland., Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, PO Box 140, 00029, Helsinki, Finland. .