Transvaginal adjustable tape: an adjustable mesh for surgical treatment of female stress urinary incontinence

After transvaginal adjustable tape, approximately 15% of patients still suffer incontinence, and voiding dysfunction is present in a relatively important number of patients. Transvaginal adjustable tape (TVA) permits postoperative readjustment of tension, suggesting that better results could be obtained. Sixty-four incontinent women received TVA. Patients were monitored 1, 6, and 12 months post-surgery and annually thereafter by medical history, cough stress test, flowmetry and post-void residual test (PVR), incontinence quality of life, International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Short Form, and Patient Global Impressions of Improvement (PGI-I) questionnaires. After adjustment, all patients rendered continent, and none had PVR. On no occasion was vesical catheterization or uretholysis necessary. Mean follow-up was 40+/-12.9 months. Objective and subjective cure rate were 94% and 56%, respectively. Q(max) was 22.3+/-9.9 ml/s. The PGI-I questionnaire showed 94% of patients to be better or very much better than before. Our data suggest that with TVA tape, better results can be obtained, furthermore, without increasing surgical complications.