Transobturator Tape: Over 10 Years Follow-up

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.

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.

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.

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.