Revisions of Mid Urethral Slings Can be Accomplished in the Office

PurposeMid urethral slings occasionally require revision for obstructive voiding symptoms or vaginal extrusion. Our approach has been to offer revision in office or resection done under local anesthesia when the patient is agreeable and deemed an appropriate candidate. The results and complications of these procedures are presented.Materials and MethodsWe retrospectively reviewed the charts of patients from January 2003 to October 2010 to determine the subset with mid urethral sling insertion who subsequently underwent revision in the office or operating room, as identified through the Northwestern Medical Enterprise Data Warehouse. The CPT code for female sling insertion (57288) or revision/removal (57287) was used.ResultsA total of 41 revisions were performed in 28 of the 118 patients (23.7%) who underwent synthetic sling insertion. Reasons for adjustment were an intravesical sling (1 operating room case), extruded vaginal mesh (7 operating room and 19 office) and obstructive voiding symptoms (7 operating room and 7 office). Obstructive voiding symptoms in 6 of 7 operating room and 6 of 7 office patients improved immediately after sling release. There were no complications in either group but 3 office patients required repeat revision in the operating room due to inability to tolerate the procedure in 2 and to nonrelief of symptoms in 1. A total of 13 operating room adjustments were made according to surgeon preference while 2 patients elected the operating room, although adjustment in office was offered.ConclusionsSling adjustment due to vaginal mesh extrusion or obstructive voiding symptoms can be successfully performed in the office with good result. When greater adjustment is needed, the operating room may be preferable. Surgeons should make these decisions based on their comfort level and patient preference.