Suburethral sling materials: best outcome with autologous tissue.

OBJECTIVE: This study was undertaken to assess the outcome of suburethral slings by type of sling material.

STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective review of women who underwent a suburethral sling between January 1997 and January 2003 with autograft, allograft or xenograft materials. Objective failure was defined as urinary leakage with cough stress testing at any time after 3 months, postoperatively. Objective cure was defined as no leakage with a standing cough stress test with at least 200 mL bladder volume at a minimum of 12 months postoperatively. Data were analyzed using Student t, Wilcoxon rank sum, and Kaplan-Meier survival tests.

RESULTS: A total of 241 women were included in this study: 78 received autograft, 80 received allograft, and 83 received xenograft. Objective failure was 36% and 46% for allograft and xenograft, respectively compared with 13% for autograft (P < .001).

CONCLUSION: Autograft has a significantly higher cure rate when used for suburethral slings.