Open AccessA Danish national survey of women operated with mid‐urethral slings in 2001
Author(s) -
AMMENDRUP ASTRID CECILIE,
JØRGENSEN ANETTE,
SANDER PIA,
OTTESEN BENT,
LOSE GUNNAR
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
acta obstetricia et gynecologica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.401
H-Index - 102
eISSN - 1600-0412
pISSN - 0001-6349
DOI - 10.3109/00016340903295600
Subject(s) - medicine , danish , urinary incontinence , cure rate , patient satisfaction , questionnaire , population , family medicine , physical therapy , surgery , social science , philosophy , linguistics , environmental health , sociology
Objective . To perform a national survey on self‐reported cure, satisfaction and complications four years after mid‐urethral sling (MUS) for urinary stress incontinence in Danish women operated in 2001. Design . A postal questionnaire survey. Population . All Danish women who received an MUS operation in 2001 extracted from the Danish National Patient Register. Methods . The women received a validated postal questionnaire in 2005. The questionnaire included questions about subjective cure, satisfaction, complications and a Danish version of International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire‐Short Form. The study was carried out in cooperation with the Danish National Board of Health. Results . A total of 335 (92%) women responded to the questionnaire, among whom 105 (32%) felt completely cured, 119 (36%) were much improved, 55 (17%) were improved and 48 (15%) unchanged or worse. Cure rate varied between departments from 0% to 67%. Low‐volume departments (<10 operations/year) had a significantly ( p = 0.05) lower cure rate compared to the department with a higher volume. Altogether, 238 (73%) women were very satisfied with their operation. Self‐reported bladder emptying difficulties were reported by 103 (32%) and the need for clean intermittent catherization (CIC) at any stage was reported by 21 (7%). No woman was still performing CIC. Of the women, 126 (42%) had made contact with the healthcare system because of their operation after discharge from hospital. Conclusions . Long‐term outcome of MUS operations in Denmark in terms of cure, satisfaction and complication rates seems comparable to international results; however, the decentralized organization with many low‐volume departments seems inappropriate.