Female urology: What method will you select?

Abstract

When I was a resident, my leader taught me that the gold standard forpatients with stress incontinence is the Marshall–Marchetti–Krantz(MMK) procedure. But a few years later, urologists who could performadvanced techniques showed me needle suspension as the best methodat a urological meeting. Fortunately my boss gave me a chance for ahand-to-hand lesson of the stamay procedure by the specialist. Sincethen, I have been selecting this procedure for a few years. Withoutdoubt, this needle suspension was the gold standard at that time.But now most urologists do not select this technique because of badresults. After I had mastered the technique of tension-free vaginal tape(TVT), I could see the smiling faces of patients after the operation. Atthat time I believed that TVT would be the gold standard for thiscondition. But the present status is what you know.Recently most specialists, including myself, believe that using‘mesh’ is the best operation for patients with pelvic organ prolapse. Isthis tendency good for the patients in the long run? No one can predictthe results of this procedure more than ten years from now.God knows what procedure will be the gold standard in the future.Assistant Professor Yasuyuki Suzuki