Purpose: Midurethral synthetic slings for female stress urinary incontinence are minimally invasive polypropylene mesh tapes that are inserted under the midurethra with trocars. In the past decade, this new technology has become the most commonly performed procedure for female stress urinary incontinence, replacing the traditional open procedures. However, its effectiveness in pre- and postmenopausal women has not previously been compared.
Materials and methods: We assessed the clinical outcome of the transobturator tape (TOT) procedure in premenopausal (n=45) and postmenopausal (n=49) women by means of self-report and the Urinary Distress Inventory 6 (UDI-6) questionnaire.
Results: The mean age of the pre- and postmenopausal women was 44 and 60 years, respectively. Mean parity was 2.4 and 3, respectively. There were no significant differences with respect to mean operation time, duration of hospitalization, or intraoperative and postoperative complications. However, premenopausal women were more satisfied with the operation than were postmenopausal women (p=0.014). Also, UDI-6 scores were significantly better in premenopausal women (p=0.027).
Conclusions: The TOT operation appeared to be more effective in premenopausal women with stress urinary incontinence. However, further studies with larger sample sizes are needed to confirm our results.
Keywords: Postmenopause; Premenopause; Suburethral slings; Urinary incontinence, stress.