Does Mid-Urethral Sling Surgery in the Treatment of Stress Urinary Incontinence Affect Weight Changes in Women? A Retrospective Cohort Study Using Internal Controls

Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) is a common disorder among women. This is particularly bothersome to physically active women, such as those who serve in the Armed Forces. With the documented success of the midurethral sling (MUS) in the treatment of SUI, more women are electing to undergo surgical treatment. Studies document that women have less inhibition about exercise as a result of decreased incontinence following MUS surgery. We sought to determine if MUS surgery is associated with a change in weight postoperatively resulting from increased levels of activity following surgery. We hypothesized that women, particularly active duty (AD) women, would experience a decrease in weight and body mass index (BMI) in the year following the MUS procedure. This retrospective cohort study used the military electronic medical record system. The subjects included AD military and civilian (CV) patients who underwent MUS surgery at tertiary care centers between July 2006 and March 2013. Weight and BMI were recorded for three distinct time periods: 1-year preoperatively, at time of surgery, and 1-year postoperatively. A total of 207 women met inclusion criteria, 76 of which were AD women in the U.S. military. For the group as a whole, we found no significant difference in mean weight or BMI among the three time points examined; however, decreases in BMI and weight were noted in the year following surgery for the subgroups of AD and obese women. Analysis of covariance showed that age, parity, preoperative weight, and concomitant hysterectomy were not significant determinants for change in weight postoperatively. Despite its effective treatment of SUI, MUS surgery did not significantly affect the weight of patients postoperatively in our retrospective cohort.