Lower urinary tract injuries after transobturator tape insertion by different routes: a large retrospective study

Objectives  To identify the rate of, and risk factors for, lower urinary tract (LUT) injuries associated with the transobturator tension‐free vaginal tape (TOT) procedure. Design  Retrospective cohort study. Setting  Tertiary referral urogynaecology centre. Population  390 women who underwent transobturator suburethral tapes for management of urodynamic stress incontinence between July 2002 and January 2006. Methods  Early cases were identified from theatre records and a case note review performed. From May 2005 ( n = 94), data from an ongoing prospective audit were reviewed. Data for LUT injuries with TOT procedures were examined and routes of insertion were compared using Fischer’s exact test. Main outcome measures  Rate of LUT injuries associated with the TOT procedures. Assessment of factors increasing risk of LUT injury, and comparison of the ‘outside‐in’ and ‘inside–out’ techniques. Results  241 women underwent TOT outside–in technique and 148 of them underwent inside–out technique. Four LUT injuries occurred (1%): two urethral injuries (0.5%) and two bladder injuries (0.5%). All LUT injuries occurred in the outside–in group, although this difference did not reach significance ( P = 0.146). Bladder injuries occurred in women who underwent concomitant vaginal surgery, while urethral injuries occurred in women undergoing secondary procedures. Conclusion  LUT injury is an uncommon complication of the TOT procedures, and in our hands only occurred with the outside–in technique. Intraoperative cystoscopy should be considered only in selected cases.