No-incision pubovaginal suspension for stress incontinence

We describe a modified needle suspension for urinary incontinence that eliminates all incisions. The anterior vaginal wall is suspended from the rectus fascia with 2 heavy nonabsorbable monofilament mattress sutures. The sutures pass down through and back up through the full thickness of the vaginal wall, and are tied suprapubically to bury the knot into the fat in the suprapubic puncture site. The technique is based on our laboratory observation that in rats and guinea pigs monofilament mattress sutures that are tied under tension to include the outside abdominal skin will cut through the skin, and become internalized and accepted without any residual inflammation if the knot is buried initially. The simplified technique makes routine use of outpatient surgery and allows for the use of local anesthesia only in selected patients. At 2 1/2 years the continence rate in the first 38 patients exceeded 87 per cent. There were no failures among the last 14 patients after the technique was modified to include an extra full thickness pass of the mattress suture through the vaginal wall. There have been no significant complications.