Objective: To analyse the incidence and the risk of developing de novo stress urinary incontinence (SUI) after laparoscopic sacral colpopexy (LSCP).
Patients and methods: In all, 53 women wit no concomitant or occult SUI before surgery had a LSCP with no anti-incontinence procedure. All their medical charts were reviewed retrospectively and analysed statistically to assess the association between clinical data before LSCP (age, body mass index, maximum urethral closure pressure, medical history of UI and prolapse surgery, bladder neck hypermobility) and de novo SUI after LSCP.
Results: With a mean (sd) follow up of 20.4 (9.1) months, seven patients (13%) developed de novo SUI, within a median (range) of 2.1 (1-3) months after surgery. There was no statistical association between factors before LSCP and de novo SUI afterward on a univariate analysis (P > 0.05). The 5-year SUI-free survival rate after LSCP was 86%.
Conclusion: Despite the risk of de novo SUI remaining low after LSCP patients should always be informed before surgery, as it cannot be predicted. Moreover, it can directly affect the functional outcome and lead to a second procedure in a few cases.