Implantation of the argus sling in a hard-to-treat patient group with urinary stress incontinence.

Introduction: Awareness of prostate cancer is growing in the Western population, and an increasing number of patients are being referred to prostate surgery. This is a significant contributor to male stress urinary incontinence (SUI). Implantation of an artificial sphincter (AUS) is considered the gold standard treatment of SUI. This study investigates the role of minimally invasive treatment with the Argus sling in a heterogenic hard-to-treat patient group.

Method: The study was a retrospective follow-up study with patients as their own controls. Forty-one patients were enrolled and treated with the Argus sling. Patients enrolled had persisting SUI after prostate surgery for more than 12 months, despite conservative treatment. The pre-operative daily usage of pads and the 24 hours urinary leakage were compared to the post-operative findings. The primary goal was to achieve complete continence or a reduction of more than 50% in pad usage or urinary leakage.

Results: In total, 71% of the 41 patients enrolled met our primary objective. Complete continence was obtained in 56%, and a reduction of 50% or more was obtained in an additional 15%.

Conclusion: This study has reproduced continence rates seen in previous studies, but in the hard-to-treat patients with urgency or formerly failed surgery, the continence rate was found to be inferior. The AUS has produced similar results and must still be considered the gold standard treatment of SUI, but the Argus sling is an alternative for patients who want a passive system or for patients not suitable for AUS.