Transobturator Tape: Over 10 Years Follow-up

Objectives: To assess subjective and objective outcomes in incontinent patients following “out-in” TOT, at >10-year follow-up; to evaluate effect on quality of life and other urinary symptoms, late adverse events and predictive factors for failure. Methods: This single-centre prospective study evaluated women with “complicated” or “uncomplicated” stress urinary incontinence (SUI) following “out-i”’ TOT between 2003 and 2007. The pre-op work-up comprised: history; pelvic examination; cough stress test; urodynamic study; UDI-6; and King's Health questionnaires. Work-up was the same as pre-op plus the Patient Global Impression of Improvement scale with final follow-up in 2017. Results: One hundred thirty six consecutive patients underwent TOT; at final follow-up (mean 145 months) we evaluated 123. Cure rates: objective: 78.9%; subjective: 62.6%; no significant deterioration in SUI cure rates over time. Urgency and urgency urinary incontinence (UUI) significantly reduced. Voiding dysfunction increased without urodynamic obstruction. De novo urgency appeared in 7.3% and de novo UUI in 4.1%. In the 31 uncomplicated SUI patients, the objective cure rate was 87.1% and the subjective cure rate was 72.2%. De novo urgency appeared in 9.7% and de novo UUI in 3.2%. Nine King's Health questionnaires domains saw statistically significant improvements. In univariate analysis, pre-op wet OAB was associated with subjective recurrent SUI (P <.038) and parity >2 was associated with objective recurrent SUI (P =.023). We had 5 cases of partial mesh exposure. Conclusion: Cure rates are satisfactory, 10 years after TOT surgery, with good quality of life and few major complications. However, some postoperative symptoms may be caused by long-term treatment failure or by advancing age or another pathology.