Evaluation of long-term results of tension-free vaginal tape in the management of stress urinary incontinence in women: 6 years follow up.

Introduction:TVT is a minimally invasive procedure for the treatment of stress urinary incontinence. Attempt for correction of the supportive anatomical tissues of the urethra have been agreed by most of the urologists in recent years. In this paper we would like to introduce the long – term results and complications of this procedure. Methods: This descriptive study enrolled 33 patients affected by stress urinary incontinence who were referred to Imam Reza hospital from 2001 to 2004.The age of patients ranged 29-62 years old(mean age of 47.09)and TVT procedure was done for all. All of the patients were admitted and after taking the history , physical examination, doing Marchal – Bonie and Q – Tip tests, routine lab tests, urinary analysis, cardio vascular assessment and anesthetic consultation , the procedure of tension-free vaginal tape was done. Results: The operation took 15-45minutes (mean 22.6 min) .The hospitalization period was 2 – 2.5 days. (mean 2.3 days) During 6 years follow up, we did not have any mortality. Subjective improvement was seen in 33 patients (100) and cure happened in 30 patients (90.9 ) after 1 month, in 28 patients (84.8 ) after 6 months, in 27 patients (81.8) after one year and 26 patients (78.7) after 6 years follow up. One patient had urinary retention (3.03) and one patient had residual volume more than 100cc (3.03 ) they were treated by 1 week of CIC One patient had de novo urgency who improved following 3 weeks of anticholinergic treatment. Conclusion: Tention-free vaginal tape operation is an effective, fast and safe minimally invasive procedure for the treatment of pure stress urinary incontinence in women that has attracted the attention of many urologists due to its short duration and minimally invasive nature.