Single incision sling (Ajust™) for the treatment of female stress urinary incontinence: 2-year follow-up

Altis® Adjustable Single Incision Sling System for Treatment of Intrinsic Sphincteric Deficiency: A 3-Year Follow-up Observational Study

IMPORTANCE

This article is a long-term follow-up study on the Altis adjustable single incision sling (Coloplast Corp.) in patients with isolated intrinsic sphincteric deficiency (ISD).

OBJECTIVES

The primary end-points were to evaluate the subjective and objective outcomes of the Altis for the treatment of ISD, with a 3-year follow-up. The secondary end-point was to evaluate the safety of this surgical procedure.

STUDY DESIGN

This is a retrospective single-arm study. A total of 123 consecutive patients with ISD were selected from our database among women who underwent an Altis implantation for ISD from March 2015 to June 2017, after unsuccessful previous conservative treatment. Of the 123 included patients, 16 were excluded, not meeting inclusion criteria. Cure rate was evaluated objectively, using a standardized cough stress test and urodynamics, and subjectively using the Patient Global Impression of Improvement. Complications were assessed intraoperatively, perioperatively, and postoperatively. Six, 12, and 36 months of follow-ups were analyzed for the study.

RESULTS

The 3-year objective cure rate was 86.9%, and the subjective cure rate was 81.5%. We observed no intraoperative complications. No women were obstructed. Ten patients reported postoperative complications, although most of them were Clavien-Dindo grade I and self-limited.

CONCLUSIONS

Altis system could be considered an effective and safe alternative to traditional midurethral slings as treatment for women with ISD.

Preliminary report of post-Ophira mini sling implantation voiding pattern: What to learn from pressure-flow studies?

Background:

The study is amined to correlate the voiding pattern after successful mini sling Ophira implantation with postoperative symptoms and satisfaction, in addition to identifying obstructions.

Materials and methods:

From 2012 to 2015 in a single institution, all consecutive patients who had stress urinary incontinence treated by using the mini sling Ophira had a pre- and 12 months postoperative urodynamic test. The International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire – Urinary Incontinence – Short Form (ICIQ-UI-SF) and the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire – Overactive Bladder (ICIQ-OAB) translated into Portuguese, were given. Patients were objectively considered cured when presenting no urinary incontinence at the Valsalva test and subjectively cured when the ICIQ-UI-SF was zero.

Results:

Questionnaire scores were obtained from 29 patients and urodynamic data from 20 patients. Mini sling Ophira implantation resulted in a significant improvement of urinary symptoms evidenced by a significant mean reduction in ICIQ-UI-SF from 16 to 5 (p < 0.0001) and ICIQ-OAB from 8 to 4 (p = 0.0001). The subjective and objective cure rates were 55% and 45%, respectively. The urodynamic changes were not related to success even when adjusted for age, hormonal status, or anterior pelvic organ prolapse. The mean maximum flow decreased to 4.9 mL/s (95% CI: 0.62–10.8; p = 0.035), and the mean detrusor pressure at maximum flow increased to 11.4 cmH₂O (95% CI: 4–18; p = 0.0078).

Conclusions:

Mini sling Ophira implantation decreased maximum urinary flow and increased the detrusor pressure at the maximum urinary flow and these urodynamic changes were not related to success.

Adjustable mini-sling compared with conventional mid-urethral slings in women with urinary incontinence: a 3-year follow-up of a randomized controlled trial

Introduction and hypothesis

The aim of this study was to compare the long-term subjective outcomes of an adjustable single-incision sling (Ajust®) vs standard mid-urethral slings (SMUS) for the treatment of women with stress urinary incontinence.

Methods

This study was designed as a multicenter prospective randomized trial. Women under 60 years old with objectively verified stress urinary incontinence were included from seven centers in three countries. Women with mixed urinary incontinence were also included. Randomization was held in blocks for operation with either Ajust® or SMUS. Women analyzed at 1-year follow-up received the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire Urinary Incontinence Short Form (ICIQ-UI-SF), International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire Overactive Bladder, Pelvic Organ Prolapse/Urinary Incontinence/Sexual Function Questionnaire-12, Patient Global Impression of Severity, and Patient Global Impression of Improvement questionnaires, together with a bladder diary to fill out at least 3 years after the procedure. The main outcome evaluated was the subjective cure rate as reported through the ICIQ-UI-SF questionnaire at 3 years.

Results

In total, 205 women participated in the 3-year follow-up: 107 in the Ajust® and 98 in the SMUS group. No significant difference was observed between the groups regarding subjective cure rate (50.9% vs 51.5%, p = 0.909) or dyspareunia. Both groups demonstrated similar postoperative perception of improvement in addition to reduced urgency and urge urinary incontinence. The postoperative improvement remained at the same level after 3 years as it was at 1-year follow-up for both Ajust® and SMUS.

Conclusions

Ajust® appears to be equally effective and safe as SMUS with regard to long-term follow-up of patient-reported outcomes.

Medium-term results of Mini-arc for urinary stress incontinence in ambulatory patients under local anesthesia

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the medium-term outcome and patient's satisfaction after Single-incision mini-sling (SIMS) procedure done under local anesthesia in ambulatory set up for patients with stress urinary incontinence (SUI).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This is a retrospective cohort study, including all patients submitted to SIMS procedure for SUI with MiniArc (AMS, U.S.A) without concomitant surgery between January 2011 and March 2013. Patients were followed up during 12 months after surgery and once a year subsequently. Telephone interviews were conducted to evaluate patient satisfaction. Outcome masseurs included: SUI cure rate, urinary urge incontinence (UUI) cure rate in patients with mixed urinary incontinence (MUI), intra and post-operative complications and patient satisfaction.

RESULTS

Ninety-three patients were included with mean follow-up of 23 months. Fifty percent had MUI with predominant SUI. The cure rates of SUI (objective and subjective) were 89%. UUI was cured in 40% of patients. No major complications occur, neither voiding obstruction or groin pain. Telephone interviews conducted after 26 months on average revealed high satisfaction rate from the procedure (8.8 out of 10) and from the local anesthesia. Visual analog scale (VAS) rating was low during and after the procedure (2.38 and 2.69 respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

The SIMS procedure is safe and highly effective for SUI and it can be performed successfully under local anesthesia in an ambulatory setup.

Single incision slings: Are they ready for real life?

AIM: To review of the efficacy and safety outcomes of different single incision slings (SIS) systems, also in comparison with traditional slings.

METHODS: A literature search was conducted in PubMed/MEDLINE database. The research was restricted to randomized and/or prospective trials and retrospective studies, published after 2006, with at least 20 patients with non-neurogenic stress urinary incontinence (SUI). The studies had to assess efficacy and/or safety of the SIS with a minimum follow-up of 12 mo. All the paper assessing the performance of tension free vaginal tape secur were excluded from this review. The final selection included 19 papers fulfilling the aforementioned criteria. Two authors independently reviewed the selected papers.

RESULTS: Four different SIS systems were analysed: Ajust^®, Ophira^®, Altis^® and MiniArc^®. The average objective cure rate was 88%. Overall no statistically significant differences were found between SIS and traditional mid-urethral slings (MUS) in terms of objective cure (all P > 0.005). Only one paper showed a statistically lower success rate in MiniArc^®vs Advantage^® slings (40% vs 90%) and higher rates of failure in the SIS group. Since there was a great variability in terms of tests performed, it was not possible to compare subjective cure between studies. The vast part of the studies showed no major complications after SIS surgery. We also observed very low reported pain rates in SIS patients. The RCTs on Ajust^® and MiniArc^®, showed better outcomes in terms of post-operative pain compared to MUS. None of the patients reported long- term pain complains.

CONCLUSION: SIS showed similar efficacy to that of traditional slings but lower short-term pain, complication and failure rates.