Does vaginal anti-incontinence surgery affect sexual satisfaction? A comparison of TVT and Burch-colposuspension.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the sexual satisfaction rates of women who underwent tension-free vaginal tape (TVT) procedure for stress urinary incontinence and compare it with the results of Burch-colposuspension. MATERIALS AND METHODS A self-administered questionnaire was given to 81 patients who had undergone TVT or Burch-colposuspension at our institution to determine sexual satisfaction rates and reasons for dissatisfaction. Forty-seven patients in TVT group and 22 patients in Burch-colposuspension group were considered eligible for the study. The mean follow-up period and age of patients in TVT and Burch-colposuspension groups were 34 months, 51.5 years and 89 months, 52.9 years, respectively. The difference between the ages in the two groups was not statistically significant, while the difference between mean follow-up periods was significant (p = 0.000). RESULTS When evaluating sexual satisfaction, 73% in the TVT group and 86% in the Burch-colposuspension group did not report any difference in sexual satisfaction following surgery, while in the TVT group, 23% expressed negative and 4% positive changes, and in the Burch-colposuspension group 9% expressed negative and 5% positive post surgical changes. The differences in sexual satisfaction rates between the two groups were not considered significant. The majority (54%) of those who expressed a negative change suffered from dyspareunia. CONCLUSIONS Although sexual satisfaction seems to be more adversely affected by TVT compared to Burch-colposuspension, the difference was not statistically significant. Further studies are required concerning different anti-incontinence techniques in order to arrive at more precise conclusions.