Case report of tension-free vaginal tape-associated bowel obstruction and relationship to body habitus

Tension-free vaginal tape (TVT) is increasingly being used as the gold standard to treat stress urinary incontinence. Previously reported complications include peritoneal perforation with acute bowel injury. A thin, petite 51-year-old woman with stress urinary incontinence underwent uneventful TVT placement. Three years later, she presented to hospital with de novo small-bowel obstruction. Laparotomy revealed TVT tape violating the peritoneum and causing the distal ileum to adhere to the pelvic sidewall. The compromised bowel was resected and primary anastomosis performed. Delayed, adhesion-related small-bowel obstruction can be a complication of TVT.