Quality of life before and after TVT, a prospective multicentre cohort study, results from the Netherlands TVT database

Objective To asses the long term outcome of tension-free vaginal tape procedure in women with isolated stress urinary incontinence (SUI). Design Prospective cohort study. Setting Twenty-eight teaching hospitals and 13 local hospitals, with 54 gynaecologists and urologists performing the surgery. Sample Eight hundred and nine participants. Methods The Incontinence Impact Questionnaire (lIQ-7) and the Urogenital Distress Inventory (UDI-6) were used to measure the results of the TVT procedure (pre-operative at 2, 6, 12 and 24 months post-operative). According the recommendation of the International Continence Society (ICS), the question `Do you experience urinary leakage during physical activity, coughing or sneezing?' was selected from the UDI to asses SUI. Main outcome measures Incontinence Impact Questionnaire (IIQ-7) and the Urogenital Distress Inventory (UDI-6). Results Both IIQ and UDI mean scores decreased significantly after TVT, indicating an improvement in quality of life. Subjective improvement can improve for up to two years post-operatively. Conclusions This is the largest prospective study that used these validated disease-specific questionnaires to asses the long term outcome of the TVT procedure. This study shows a statistically significant and clinically relevant long term improvement of the quality of life after a TVT for women with SUI