[A Spanish multicenter trial of TVT for female urinary incontinence].

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to evaluate results and complications of TVT in a large series from different hospital centers in Spain. METHOD We retrospectively studied the results of TVT placement from 6 centers with 272 consecutive patients (median follow-up was 636 days). All types of stress urinary incontinence with a surgical indication were included and no previous conditions were established regarding the indication. No protocol was used for either the intervention or postoperative support measures. Data collection was protocolized and carried out using a common questionnaire that was completed by an urologist at each center from 3 to 6 months after the intervention and then annually. All patients who underwent intervention were asked about their satisfaction with the outcome. Multivariate studies were made to identify the factors that influenced the recovery of continence and the occurrence of complications. RESULTS 92.1% of patients were continent and 2.4% have not shown any improvement. 91.6% of the patients claimed to be satisfied whereas only 2.7% were dissatisfied. After four years only 2.8% of patients showed mild incontinence with time and 0.4% had moderate incontinence. Only previous surgery for incontinence was found to be significantly unfavorable factor for achieving postoperative continence. CONCLUSION We have reproduced a scenario closer to daily clinical reality than the results of series from a single institution or analyses using stricter selection criteria. This multicenter study verifies the viability and reproducibility of TVT with minimal complications in centers where patients are not selected and where not all urologists are specialized in urinary incontinence.