Journal of endourology
-
Journal of endourology · Feb 2020
Observational StudyLearning Curve for the Tension-Free Vaginal Tape-Obturator Procedure for Female Stress Urinary Incontinence: A Prospective Single-Surgeon Study.
Objective: To evaluate the learning curve in an untrained resident surgeon for the initial case series of tension-free vaginal tape-obturator (TVT-O) to treat stress urinary incontinence. Materials and Methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted in Changhai Hospital, Shanghai, China, between March 2014 and June 2018. All consecutive women included were treated by the TVT-O procedure performed by one surgeon working under the supervision of an expert surgeon. ⋯ Conclusions: The TVT-O procedure showed encouraging objective and subjective outcomes and low complication rates, even at the initial stage of the learning curve. Thirty cases were required for a naïve resident surgeon to learn TVT-O procedures. However, long-term outcome and complications caused by the synthetic sling still need further follow-up.