1 3
World J Urol
DOI 10.1007/s00345-016-1969-1
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Long-term outcomes of transobturator tension-free vaginal tapes
as secondary continence procedures
Mohamed Abdel-Fattah
1
· Gabriel Cao
2
· Alyaa Mostafa
1
Received: 23 September 2016 / Accepted: 4 November 2016
© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2016
Conclusions TO-TVT operations are associated with good
patient-reported success rates (62%) in women with previ-
ous failed continence surgery with up to 9-years follow-up.
There is a non-significant trend towards better outcomes
with the inside-out TO-TVT.
Keywords Transobturator tapes · Mid-urethral slings ·
Tension-free vaginal tape · Urinary incontinence · Stress
urinary incontinence
Introduction
In the UK, the lifetime risk of women undergoing sur-
gery for stress urinary incontinence (SUI) is 3.6% [1].
The reoperation rate for recurrent SUI (R-SUI) varies
between studies (8.8–17%) [2, 3]. The median time to
undergo repeat continence surgery for R-SUI in the UK is
2.8 years [4].
Management of R-SUI can be challenging being depend-
ent on multiple factors such as the type of the index proce-
dure, time to failure and patients’ factors such as BMI, co-
morbidities and patient’s attitude towards further surgery.
Surgeons and institution factors are also important such as
the availability of surgical expertise and specific investiga-
tions [video urodynamics (VUD), urethral pressure profile
(UPP)]. The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
of Canada recommends the use of conservative manage-
ment, such as pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT), as a
first-line treatment in women with R-SUI [5]. There is no
consensus on the best surgical management of R-SUI, and
a number of options have been suggested including midure-
thral tension-free vaginal slings (MUS) including retropu-
bic tension-free vaginal tape (RP-TVT) and transobturator
tension-free vaginal tape (TO-TVT) and more traditional
Abstract
Purpose To assess the long-term patient-reported out-
comes following TO-TVT as a secondary continence pro-
cedure in women with recurrent stress urinary incontinence
(R-SUI).
Methods A secondary analysis of the 9-year follow-up of the
E-TOT study was performed: 341 women with predominant
SUI symptoms were randomised to undergo either Inside-out
or Outside-in TO-TVT between April 2005 and April 2007.
Forty-six women had R-SUI following previously failed con-
tinence surgery at time of randomisation and are the basis of
this analysis as a one single cohort. Primary outcome was the
patient-reported success rate defined as very/much improved
on Patient’s Global Impression of Improvement (PGI-I). Sec-
ondary outcomes included late adverse events and impact on
women’s quality of life and sexual function. Statistical analy-
sis was performed using SPSS version 23.
Results Sixty-three per cent completed the 9-year follow-
up. The success based on the PGI-I was 62.1% with no sig-
nificant difference between groups (OR 5.33; 95% CI 1.03,
27.76; p = 0.094). Clinically significant improvement in
QoL was found in 84.2%. Adverse events included vaginal
erosions (n = 3) and groin pain (n = 2). The small sample
size is a limitation in this study; nevertheless, this is one of
the largest cohorts reported for women with R-SUI and the
first to report the long-term outcomes of TO-TVT as a sec-
ondary continence procedure.
* Mohamed Abdel-Fattah
m.abdelfattah@abdn.ac.uk
1
Division of Applied Health Sciences, University of Aberdeen,
Second Floor, Aberdeen Maternity Hospital, Foresterhill,
AB25 2ZD Aberdeen, UK
2
University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK