It is a well established abdominal operation to treat female stress urinary incontinence. The aim of the surgery is to lift the bladder neck to the strong ligaments on the pelvic bones using sutures.
The surgery may be done concurrently with other procedures, like removing the womb (uterus), for benign conditions such as uterine fibroids or uterine prolapse.
It is performed to cure female stress urinary incontinence caused by a loose and hypermobile bladder neck. The success rate is 85% at 1 year; 80% at 5 years and 70% at 10 years after surgery.
They are:
It is a relatively safe procedure. However, like all surgeries, complications may occasionally occur. These include:
There are other surgeries that can be done to correct female stress urinary incontinence. Tension-free vaginal tape (TVT or TVT-O) insertion is an alternative that is now the most effective continence surgery.
Non-surgical alternatives include:
The surgery may be done under regional anaesthesia (which involves the injection of a local anaesthetic medicine into the spine while you are awake) or general anaesthesia (where you will be asleep throughout the operation). The anaesthetist will discuss will you the advantages and disadvantages of both methods.
The operation involves a "bikini" line cut just below the pubic hairline. The surgery takes about 45 minutes to complete.
At the end of surgery, a tube will be inserted into the bladder through the abdominal wall (suprapubic catheter) or the urethra (urethral catheter). Another tube (drain) will also be inserted to drain blood from the site of surgery.
After the operation, you are required to return for regular follow-up care. You will be seen at 1 week, 1 month, 6 months, 1 year and yearly thereafter. Urodynamic studies will be repeated at 6 months after surgery to confirm cure and to exclude other bladder disorders.
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