Abstract

Surgery for stress urinary incontinence has undergone a significant technical evolution in recent years. For many years the open colposuspension has been ‘gold standard’ which, more recently, is replaced by employment of suburethral tapes. There is now a huge range of retropubic, transobturator and minimal invasive tapes available, using a variety of different graft materials. While some of these have been well evaluated, many have become part of routine clinical practice with little or no data available. Careful consideration of the surgical options available is essential to ensure best surgical outcome for women undergoing incontinence surgery. This article reviews the characteristics, efficacy, morbidity and long term success rates of the various surgical treatments available.

Keywords: Stress urinary incontinence, surgical treatment, Burch colposuspension, suburethral sling, synthetic slings, biomaterials, injectables