Selection of patients for surgical correction of urinary incontinence after prostatic surgery

It has been suggested that patients with urinary incontinence after prostatic surgery should be accepted for operative correction only if there is no urethral stricture, no urinary infection, and a normal cystometrogram. To study the frequency of these contra-indications, 37 patients suffering from incontinence after suprapubic enucleation of benign prostatic adenomas were examined. Urethral strictures were found in 16 patients, recurrent urinary infection in 16, and an abnormal cystometrogram in 9. Only 13 patients were found to fulfill all three criteria for operative correction. The validity of the criteria is discussed on the basis of our experience from 13 patients operated upon with a free fascial sling. Ten of them were cured or improved. Three patients remained incontinent; these 3 patients were the only ones in the operated series who did not fulfull the suggested criteria for correction. Thus, so far, the criteria seem to be justifiable.