HOLLYWOOD, FLA. — Symptom and quality-of-life improvements were noted at 3-year follow-up by most of the women who received a midurethral sling to treat stress urinary incontinence.
Dr. John B. Gebhart reported the findings of the single-surgeon case series study at the annual meeting of the American Urogynecologic Society. Follow-up data were available for 75 of 113 patients who received the Uretex Urethral Support device, which was introduced in 2001 by CR Bard Inc. The company provided a research grant for the study.
Dr. Gebhart, a urogynecologist and reconstructive pelvic surgeon, and a member of the obstetrics and gynecology faculty at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn., initiated the study in 2002. He or his surgery fellow implanted the Uretex device in 113 women with stress urinary incontinence. Some of these patients also presented with pelvic organ prolapse or mixed incontinence with a predominant stress component; 16 of the 75 women (21%) had undergone prior surgery for incontinence and 43 patients (57%) had undergone prior surgery for pelvic organ prolapse. Patients' mean age at follow-up was 63 years, mean body mass index was 30 kg/m
At baseline and follow-up, researchers assessed history, performed a physical examination, and measured quality of life using the validated Urinary Distress Inventory-6 (UDI-6) and Incontinence Impact Questionnaire-7 (IIQ-7). Median scores on quality-of-life measures had significantly improved at follow-up compared with baseline, Dr. Gebhart said.
Also, all 75 women passed a cough stress test at a comfortably full bladder; 65 had no leakage during a leak point pressure test at 300 mL; and 62 participants had a negative 1-hour pad test.