Management of Female Stress Urinary Incontinence

Abstract

Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) is a condition characterized by an involuntary loss of urine occurring as result of an increase of intra-abdominal pressure due to effort or exertion or on sneezing or coughing. It is estimated to have a prevalence between 10 and 40% of the female population. Surgical therapy should be indicated only after conservative therapies (rehabilitation, local oestrogenic) have failed. The synthetic midurethral slings are the gold standard for the surgical treatment of the SUI according to the guidelines 2016 of the European Society of Urology and the position statement of the 2017 of the European Urogynaecological Association. When offering a surgical procedure, the specialist should discuss with the woman the risks and benefits of the different treatment options for SUI. Patients should have the opportunity to make informed decisions about their care and treatment, in partnership with their healthcare professionals. The therapeutic options available today are numerous, but the current trend is aimed at the continuous research of new therapeutic strategies in order to achieve an ever better balance between high efficacy and maximum reduction of adverse events.