Does concomitant vaginal prolapse repair affect the outcomes of the transobturator tape procedure in the long term?

Introduction And Hypothesis: Little information is available on the effects of concomitant vaginal prolapse repair on the outcomes of the transobturator tape (TOT) procedure. The purpose of this study is to assess the results and complications of TOT when combined with vaginal prolapse repair with a long-term follow-up.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 232 female patients who underwent the TOT procedure at two institutions. There were two groups: group 1 consisted of patients who had undergone TOT alone and group 2 consisted of patients who had undergone concomitant vaginal prolapse repair. The outcomes were analyzed considering four postoperative parameters: objective cure, subjective cure, resolution of urgency urinary incontinence (UUI), and patient satisfaction. The mean follow-up was 66.3 months (range 60-85).

Results: A total of 117 patients in group 1 and 104 patients in group 2 were documented in this study. The subjective and objective cure rates were 87.17%, 64.95% in group 1 and 89.42%, 68.26% in group 2. Patient satisfaction rates (visual analog scale [VAS] score ≥80) were 71.79 and 83.65% in groups 1 and 2 respectively (p = 0.035). Complications were reported according to the Clavien-Dindo classification with grade I 7.7%, grade II 69.2%, grade IIIa 7.7%, and grade IIIb 15.4%, and grade I 9.5%, grade II 47.6%, grade IIIa 42.8%, and grade IIIb 0% in groups 1 and 2 respectively.

Conclusions: Concomitant vaginal prolapse repair with TOT does not have any negative effects on continence outcomes; on the contrary, it increases patient satisfaction.