In women with predominant stress urinary incontinence (SUI), recent data are still controversial regarding the short-term outcomes of mini-slings and there is a lack of evidence about the outcomes in the long term. Our aim was to evaluate the long-term effectiveness and complication rates of Altis® (Coloplast).
A total of 145 women with clinical SUI were implanted with an Altis® sling between April 2012 and December 2015. Women completed the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire Short Form (ICIQ-SF) before the intervention and in the following consultations. A telephone interview was performed in January 2021 and 131 women (90%) were available for re-evaluation. The main outcome was treatment success, defined as no self-reported SUI symptoms and no reintervention. Secondary outcomes included response to ICIQ-SF (cure defined as ICIQ-SF = 0) and Patient Global Impression of Improvement (PGI-I) questionnaires, de novo overactive bladder (OAB) symptoms and adverse events.
The overall treatment success was 73.3% at a median follow-up of 8 years. The ICIQ-SF cure rate was 66.1%. In the PGI-I, 70.4% answered that they were much better or very much better. Later postoperative complications included 2 cases (1.5%) of vaginal extrusion (requiring surgical removal of the eroded mesh segment), 3 (2.3%) cases of infravesical obstruction (which led to sling section), de novo urgency in 20 patients (15.3%), and mild dyspareunia in 2 (1.5%) patients.
The Altis® sling was safe and effective in a long-term follow-up, improving the quality of life in patients with SUI.
International urogynecology journal. 2021 Aug 02 [Epub ahead of print]
Alexandre Gromicho, Jorge Dias, Débora Araújo, Raquel Rodrigues, George Bou Kheir, Luís Ferraz
Urology Department, Centro Hospitalar do Funchal, Av. Luís de Camões 57, 9000-177, Funchal, Portugal. ., Urology Department, Centro Hospitalar Vila Nova de Gaia/Espinho EPE, Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal., Urology Department, Centre Hospitalier de Wallonie Picarde, Tournai, Belgium.