De novo or resolved urgency and urgency urinary incontinence after midurethral sling operations: How can we properly counsel our patients?

PURPOSE: To evaluate de novo and resolved urgency and urgency urinary incontinence (UUI) after midurethral sling operations in patients with stress urinary incontinence (SUI) and mixed urinary incontinence (MUI). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients who underwent midurethral sling operations because of SUI and MUI between January 2012 and December 2016 were reviewed. Patients were divided into three groups (pure SUI, SUI with urgency, and MUI). Patients with MUI were subcategorized as SUI predominant, equivalent, and UUI predominant. Postoperative de novo, persistent or disappearance of urgency or UUI were compared. RESULTS: A total of 334 patients were included: 76 with pure SUI, 78 with SUI with urgency, and 180 with MUI. In the MUI group, 138 patients were SUI predominant, 12 patients were equivalent, and 30 patients were UUI predominant. De novo urgency developed in 5 patients (6.6%) in the pure SUI group. In the SUI with urgency group, 51 patients (65.4%) became urgency-free, and 3 (3.8%) developed de novo UUI. UUI resolved in 135 patients (75.0%): 110 (79.7%) in the SUI-predominant group, 9 (75.0%) in the equivalent group, and 16 (53.3%) in the UUI-predominant group. The patients' preoperative perception of predominant UUI was the predictive factor for persistent UUI in the multivariate analysis (hazard ratio, 5.722; p=0.001). CONCLUSIONS: De novo urgency and UUI developed in a relatively small number of patients after a midurethral sling operation. The resolution rate of UUI was significantly low in patients who had previous pelvic surgery or who preoperatively perceived UUI as a more bothersome symptom.