Comparison of Stamey and Pereyra-Raz bladder neck suspensions

Endoscopic bladder neck suspension has become one of the more popular methods of surgical treatment of stress incontinence. The Pereyra technique was first described in 1959 and modified by Raz in 1981. Stamey first described his technique in 1973 and this has been modified in a number of ways. The reported cure rates are 54 to 94% for the Pereyra-Raz procedure and 61 to 92% for the Stamey procedure. We present a comparative review of the technical results of treatment of 30 patients with a modified Stamey procedure and 17 patients with a modified Pereyra-Raz technique. The age range of the 2 groups was comparable. A successful result, with either complete continence or only minor occasional leaks after surgery, was achieved in 80% with the Stamey techniques and 76% with the Pereyra technique. Those patients not helped by the procedure had nearly all undergone previous surgery for incontinence. The Pereyra technique was used more frequently in patients who had failed previous incontinence surgery (including the Stamey technique). Complications were minor; 5 buffer infections occurred (3 buffers were removed). Both techniques offer a significant improvement in continence, but previous surgery is associated with a higher failure rate.