Tension-free vaginal tape procedure for treatment of USI: subjective and objective efficacy evaluation

Urinary incontinence is a frequent functional disease affecting 5% to 25% of women. It is commonly believed that urinary stress incontinence (USI) is caused by anatomical defects, thus it can be treated by restoring anatomy. More than 100 surgical techniques have been proposed for genuine stress incontinence treatment. The tension free vaginal tape procedure (TVT) for the treatment of genuine IUS in women was first reported in 1996 by Ulmsten et al. The purpose of this study was to evaluate objective and subjective efficacy of the TVT procedure in different types of female urinary incontinence. From February 2000 to December 2001, 52 patients with urinary incontinence underwent the TVT procedure in the Obstetric and Gynecology Department of Avezzano Hospital, Italy. No difference in the cure rates was found between patients undergoing the TVT alone or associated with anterior and/or posterior colporrhaphy. In accordance with many authors we can affirm that the TVT sling technique is easy to use, the time for surgery is relatively short, and the procedure is free of complications and provides a satisfactory outcome.