Long-term outcome of transobturator tape (TOT) for treatment of stress urinary incontinence in females with neuropathic bladders.

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective review of prospectively collected data. OBJECTIVES: Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) is a cause of significant distress in women with neurogenic bladder dysfunction (NBD) due to spinal cord injury (SCI). Transobturator tape (TOT) has not previously been studied in this select group for cure of SUI. We aim to determine the long-term safety and efficacy of TOT in SCI patients with NBD and SUI. SETTING: London, the United Kingdom. METHODS: All patients undergoing TOT between 2005 and 2013 were identified (27 patients). All patients had pre-operative videocystometrogram (VCMG) and all had VCMG-proven SUI. Mean follow-up was 5.2 years. Patient-reported leakage, satisfaction, change in bladder management, complications and de novo overactive bladder (OAB) were recorded. RESULTS: Mean age was 56 years (range 30-82) with complete follow-up. Twenty-two patients (81.5%) reported complete dryness from SUI post surgery. One patient (3.7%) reported SUI only when her bladder was very full but was satisfied. Twenty-three patients (85.2%) were happy. Four patients (14.8%) remained wet. Twenty-five patients (92.6%) had no change in bladder management. Two out of five patients (40%) who voided by straining prior to surgery required clean intermittent self-catheterisation (CISC) post-operatively. Two patients (7.4%) developed de novo OAB. No bladder or vaginal injuries, tape erosions or urethral obstruction were seen. Three patients (11.1%) had transient thigh pain. CONCLUSION: In women with NBD and SUI, TOT should be considered safe and effective with very good medium/long-term outcomes. There may be an increased risk of CISC in women who void by straining pre-operatively.

Long-term urological management in spinal injury units in the U.K. and Eire: a follow-up study.

AIMS: The majority of patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) will develop neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction (NLUTD). These patients require a long-term urological follow-up. The follow-up protocol has varied across SCI units in the United Kingdom and Eire. We reviewed the long-term management in the SCI units to identify changes in practice over a decade and compared them to current guidelines. METHODS: We present results of a review of all SCI centres in the United Kingdom and Eire on their long-term urological management before and after the current guidelines and compared the results with European Association of Urology (EAU) Guidelines on NLUTD and the proposed British guidelines for the urological management of patients with SCI. Data were collected through questionnaires posted to SCI units. RESULTS: SCI patients are followed up in outpatients annually in the SCI centres and the frequency of follow-up remains largely unchanged. More SCI units perform renal tract imaging annually as a part of SCI follow-up. Most units follow the proposed British guideline indications for urodynamics and do not perform 'routine urodynamics'. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that the long-term management of SCI patients in SCI units in the United Kingdom and Eire has changed overtime to follow the proposed British guidelines. EAU guidelines offer a more extensive follow-up regime. Last, there is a continued lack of high-quality evidence to support an optimal long-term follow-up protocol. Importantly, there is a lack of evidence on clinical outcomes when these guidelines have been followed.