AUA/SUFU Updates Guideline on Surgical Treatment of Female Stress Urinary Incontinence

The American Urological Association (AUA) and the Society of Urodynamics, Female Pelvic Medicine & Urogenital Reconstruction (SUFU) has updated their 2017 clinical practice guideline on the surgical treatment of female stress urinary incontinence (SUI). This amendment is based on their review of 24 studies published through February 2022. No changes were made to the patient evaluation and cystoscopy and urodynamics testing sections and only a minor update was made to patient counseling. Read more.

Source: Renal and Urology News, June 16, 2023

AUA, SUFU Release an Amendment to the Female Stress Urinary Incontinence Guideline

Today, the American Urological Association (AUA), in partnership with the Society of Urodynamics, Female Pelvic Medicine & Urogenital Reconstruction (SUFU), released the 2023 clinical practice guideline amendment for the surgical treatment of female stress urinary incontinence (SUI). SUI is a common problem experienced by many women. About 1 in 3 women suffer from SUI at some point in their lives, and the chance of having urinary incontinence increases with age. The updated guideline has 24 recommendations that provide a clinical framework for the assessment and treatment of SUI in women. Read more and access the new guideline.

Source: PRNewswire, April 25, 2023

Simpler Surgery May Work As Well As Standard For Women With Incontinence

For women with frequent urine leakage, a newer and simpler “sling” surgery works as well as the standard version, according to a new clinical trial. The study involved women with stress urinary incontinence, where movement that puts pressure on the abdomen — such as running, lifting, coughing or laughing — causes urine leakage. When the condition is severe, surgery may be recommended. Read more.

Source: UPI, April 1, 2022

Caldera Medical Announces FDA Clearance for New Desara® TVez for Stress Urinary Incontinence

Caldera Medical, a medical device company that develops best-in-class surgical products for the treatment of Stress Urinary Incontinence, Pelvic Organ Prolapse, and Polyps announced the launch of Desara^®TVez, an expansion to their Desara^® Family of products. Caldera Medical, a medical device company that develops best-in-class surgical products for the treatment of Stress Urinary Incontinence, Pelvic Organ Prolapse, and Polyps announced the launch of Desara^®TVez, an expansion to their Desara^® Family of products. Read more.

Source: Business Wire, December 2, 2021

Tepha Initiates Clinical Evaluation of P4HB Regenerative Scaffold for Stress Urinary Incontinence

Tepha has announced the initiation of a pilot clinical evaluation of the Company’s P4HB regenerative polymer scaffold for the surgical treatment of stress urinary incontinence (SUI). The study was initiated in Cape Town, South Africa in partnership with the Pelvic Floor Foundation of South Africa(“PFFSA”) and the University of Cape Town. The first procedures were performed by co-principal investigators, Dr. Stephen Jeffery of the University of Cape Town and Professor Jan-Paul Roovers of the Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The Cape Town SUI study represents the first clinical application of Tepha’s P4HB polymer technology in the field of urogynecology. Based in Lexington, MA, Tepha is the pioneer developer and exclusive supplier of the P4HB polymer for medical applications that include hernia repair, plastic surgery, tendon & ligament repair, and wound closure. Read more.

Source: Compelo, February 28, 2019

London Researchers Examine Psychological Fallout of Incontinence Surgery Complications

London researchers are zeroing in on the potential psychological effects of complications from women’s incontinence surgery, uncovering an increased risk of depression and self-harm after the corrective surgery. Researchers at the Western University branch of Toronto-based Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences and Lawson Health Research Institute — the research arm of the London Health Sciences Centre and St. Joseph’s Health Care London — examined patient outcomes after pelvic mesh implants from January 2004 to December 2012. Using 12 years of data from Ontario’s public health-care system, researchers studied the files of 57,611 women who underwent the midurethral mesh sling procedure during the study period. Of those, 1,586 went under the knife again to correct a complication from the mesh. Read more.

Source: The London Free Press, January 9, 2019

surgeons perform pelvic organ prolapse surgery

Australia Bans Use of Vaginal Mesh Implants for Prolapse

An Australian watchdog has banned the use of controversial vaginal mesh implants for prolapse after a review found “the benefits do not outweigh the risks these products pose to patients”. The Therapeutic Goods Administration has decided to remove the use of mesh products in the treatment of pelvic organ prolapse and single incision mini-slings which is used to treat urinary incontinence. This move follows the news that NICE, the health watchdog in the UK, will recommend that mesh should be banned as a routine treatment for prolapse, a condition when organs such as the vagina, uterus or bowel fall down or slip out of place. The draft guidance, seen by Sky News and due to be published next month, states that mesh implants for prolapse should now only be used for research purposes. It does not affect the use of mesh for incontinence which accounts for the majority of operations. Read more.

Source: Sky News, November 29, 2017

Majority of Incontinence Treatments Deliver Poor Results

Surgery is the most reliable method of treatment for incontinence – curing the condition in just over eight in ten cases; other types of treatment, meanwhile, do not deliver the same kind of success. These are the findings of a comprehensive systematic overview of cure rates for the treatment of incontinence around the world during the last ten years. “Unfortunately we are not actually curing the condition in that many cases. Surgery aside, the results delivered are poor. And the problems are only going to get worse in the future because the population, as we know, is aging,” says Ian Milsom, Professor of Gynecology and Obstetrics at the Sahlgrenska Academy and Head of the Gothenburg Continence Research Center (GCRC). Read more.

Source: Science Daily, April 4, 2017

Surgeries for Stress Urinary Incontinence (SUI)

sling surgery for stress urinary incontinence

Creating a “sling” is one surgical method for helping alleviate the symptoms of stress urinary incontinence.

Surgeries for stress urinary incontinence (SUI) usually involve creating a small hammock under the bladder neck or mid urethra to help support it. Depending on the specific type of surgery, the hammock can be constructed of tissue taken from another area of your own body, or a synthetic material. When your sphincter muscle clamps down on the urethra, it presses against this new “hammock” which provides resistance and clamps the urethra closed, helping to keep urine in.Continue reading→