Outcomes of Retropubic Sub-Mid-Urethral Sling Procedure for Recurrent Stress Urinary Incontinence after Primary Surgical Failure in Women

Objective: Sub-mid-urethral sling (SMUS) procedures fail to cure stress urinary incontinence (SUI) in 10% to 20% of patients. In such cases, it has remained unclear which surgical procedure should be employed after the failure of the first SMUS procedure. Similarly, there are minimal reports on this issue in the literature. Retropubic SMUS reportedly has a higher cure rate than transobturator SMUS and may, thus, be preferable against recurrent SUI. This study aimed to evaluate the advantage of a retropubic SMUS operation for recurrent SUI after primary SMUS failure. Design: The study was a retrospective cross-sectional design that included women who were diagnosed with recurrent SUI and had received surgical treatment. Materials and Methods: Forty female patients diagnosed with recurrent SUI who were treated by retropubic SMUS surgery between July 2012 and January 2016 were included in the study. After a loss to follow-up, data on 38 patients were included in the 1-year postoperative analysis. Results: Thirty-five women (92.1%) were cured of SUI, and three women had residual SUI after 1 year. Conclusions: We conclude that cure rates after undergoing retropubic SMUS procedures for recurrent SUI in women after primary SMUS failure are satisfactory over the first year.