Condition-specific quality of life 24 months after retropubic and transobturator sling surgery for stress urinary incontinence

Aims: To compare quality of life (QoL) and factors associated with QoL change after retropubic (RMUS) and transobturator midurethral slings (TMUS) using the Incontinence Impact Questionnaire (IIQ) and the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire (ICIQ). Methods: Five hundred ninety-seven women in a multicenter randomized trial of RMUS versus TMUS were examined. The IIQ and the ICIQ were obtained at baseline and at 12 and 24 months. Repeated-measures analysis of variance tested for differences by treatment group over time. Multivariable analysis identified factors associated with QoL change at 12 months postoperative, controlling for treatment group and baseline QoL. Results: Improvement in IIQ was associated with the following: treatment success, younger age, improvement in stress urinary incontinence (SUI) symptom severity, and bother (all P <0.05). Improvement in ICIQ was associated with treatment success, younger age, improvement in SUI symptom severity and bother, lower body mass index, and no reoperation (all P <0.05). Improvement of the IIQ was stable over time (P = 0.35) for both treatment groups (P = 0.66), whereas the ICIQ showed a small but clinically insignificant decline (P = 0.03) in both treatment groups (P = 0.51). Conclusions: Postoperative QoL was improved after RMUS and TMUS. Measures of QoL functioned similarly, although more surgically modifiable urinary incontinence factors predicted improvement with the IIQ.