Effectiveness of Transobturator Tape Procedure in Obese and Severely Obese Women: 3-Year Follow-up

Impact of Weight Gain on Surgical Outcomes and Quality of Life among Women after Sling Surgeries

STUDY OBJECTIVE

To investigate the impact of body weight gain after sling surgeries on outcomes in women with stress urinary incontinence.

DESIGN

A single-center, retrospective study.

SETTING

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Mackay Memorial Hospital, Taiwan.

PATIENTS

A total of 248 women who underwent sling surgeries from 2010 to 2015 were reviewed. Patients who gained more than 10% body weight were compared with those with stable body weight.

INTERVENTIONS

Midurethral sling surgery with single-incision, transobturator, or retropubic slings.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS

Objective success was defined as no urine leakage during the stress test in the filling phase of urodynamic studies. De novo overactive bladder (OAB) was defined as the appearance of urgency, frequency, and/or nocturia, with or without urinary incontinence after midurethral sling surgery persisting after 6 months. Quality of life evaluations included the short forms of the Urogenital Distress Inventory-6 and Incontinence Impact Questionnaire-7. A total of 248 women who underwent sling surgeries and had complete weight measurement and evaluation data before and after the surgeries were included, of whom 47 gained body weight, and 201 had a stable body weight. The median follow-up duration was 18 months (range, 6-47 months). There were no significant differences in surgical outcomes between the 2 groups regarding objective cure rate (86% vs 87%, p = .834), 1-hour pad test (4.5 ± 17.8 vs 3.6 ± 18.6 g, p = .770), or postoperative quality of life (Urogenital Distress Inventory-6: 1.9 ± 2.8 vs 2.8 ± 3.2, p = .122; Incontinence Impact Questionnaire-7: 1.8 ± 3.9 vs 2.6 ± 4.3, p = .307). A trend toward increased de novo OAB rate was observed, although this finding was not adequately powered.

CONCLUSION

Weight gain after sling surgeries did not influence surgical outcomes, but there was a nonsignificant trend toward increased OAB in the weight gain group. It may be beneficial to counsel patients with regard to body weight maintenance after sling surgeries.

The impact of overweight in the efficiency and complications of midurethral sling in patients with stress urinary incontinence: a systematic review and meta-analysis

AIMS

To compare the efficiency and complications of normal weight and overweight women with stress urinary incontinence (SUI) after surgery.

METHODS

We searched the PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library Databases to identify all compared results, including those involving the terms normal weight, overweight, body mass index (BMI), and SUI. After treatment with surgery, the efficiency (subjective cure rate, objective cure rate, UDI-6, and IIQ-7) and complications were compared between the normal weight and overweight groups.

RESULTS

The study inclusion criteria were met by 20 studies involving 3829 patients. The data synthesized from these studies indicated that the subjective and objective cure rates in the normal weight group were significantly more effective than those in the overweight group (RR 1.07; 95% CI 1.04-1.10; P < 0.00001; RR 1.24; 95% CI 1.18-1.30; P < 0.00001), while the IIQ-7 and UDI-6 were no different between the two groups (MD 0.07; 95% CI - 1.44 to 1.58; P = 0.93; MD 0.18; 95% CI - 1.24 to 1.60; P = 0.81). For the data of complications, only the urgency was more in the overweight group (RR 0.68, 95% CI 0.55-0.84, P = 0.0003).

CONCLUSIONS

The objective success rate and subjective success rate of the surgery were higher in normal weight patients than those in overweight patients. Also, the side effects between the two groups were not significantly different.

Obesity and Stress Urinary Incontinence: Impact on Pathophysiology and Treatment

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Obesity is highly prevalent and is associated with stress urinary incontinence (SUI). The purposes of this review are to assess the pathophysiology of SUI in the obese female and review the outcomes of weight loss and anti-incontinence surgery in this population.

RECENT FINDINGS

While increased intra-abdominal pressure appears to be the common pathophysiologic link between obesity and SUI, neurogenic and metabolic pathways have been proposed. Both surgical and non-surgical weight loss continue to have beneficial effects on SUI; however, long-term outcomes are largely absent. Midurethral sling (MUS) surgery is largely effective in the obese population, with a complication profile similar to that in non-obese women. Obesity has been shown to be a risk factor for failure of MUS. While weight loss should be the primary modality to improve SUI in the obese woman, MUS remains an effective and safe option in those women undertaking surgery.

Obesity and Pelvic Floor Disorders: A Review of the Literature

Overweight and obesity are becoming a worldwide health problem associated with numerous co-morbidities. National costs of obesity and pelvic flor disorders have been rising since the 1950s across the world. Obesity is thought to have a very strong effect on pelvic floor disorders, and, considering the high prevalence of both problems worldwide, it is of utmost importance to evaluate the association between these pathologies as well as the impact of obesity on treatment efficacy. This review is based on a selection of reports in the literature (PubMed search), including guidelines and Cochrane reviews.

Obesity seems to be a well-documented risk factor for lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and is a predictor of exacerbation of stress urinary incontinence (SUI) and overactive bladder (OAB). Weight loss is also associated with improvement or resolution of SUI and OAB. In the case of pelvic organ prolapse (POP), weight loss is associated with improvement in quality of life. Although obesity is associated with POP in general, the exact role of obesity in symptomatic POP remains uncertain. While outcomes of anti-incontinence surgery among obese women are similar to those in non-obese women, postoperative urge incontinence is more likely to occur. It seems that obesity is not a risk factor for postoperative complications or short-term efficacy of POP surgical treatment. Long-term effects are still uncertain.

Obesity is a strong risk factor for LUTS, but in most cases it does not affect efficacy of operative treatment. It may be associated with some post-operative complications. Weight loss in many cases allows avoiding surgical intervention.