Storage symptoms after surgical treatment of stress urinary incontinence in women: a clinical review

Objectives: Minimally invasive sling procedures for the treatment of stress urinary incontinence has gained a topic of great interest for the last decades. However, postoperative storage symptoms after sling implantation or conventional surgical techniques are one of the most distressing complications which can significantly impair quality of life. The current review aims to focus on the development of storage symptoms after surgical treatment in comparison of different surgical techniques. Mechanism: A narrative review has been performed to identify literature reporting the incidence of storage symptoms after female stress urinary incontinence surgery. The results of systematic reviews and meta-analysis have been included in this review. Findings in brief: Pubovaginal slings have a higher risk for developing storage symptoms. In contrast, standard midurethral slings (SMUS) and colposuspensions demonstrate comparable rates of postoperative storage symptoms. Regarding SMUS, the surgical route did not demonstrate significant differences in storage symptoms. In comparison between SIMS and SMUS, no significant difference of postoperative storage symptoms could be identified. Conclusions: Pubovaginal slings have the highest risk for postoperative storage symptoms in comparison to colposuspension and SMUS and SIMS. Furthermore, surgical technique and misplacement of sling may contribute significantly in the development of postoperative storage symptoms.