Objective: To apply the new concept of a surgical therapeutic index to patients who suffer from stress urinary incontinence using the cure rate and complication rates of Burch colposuspension and to develop a preoperative counseling tool and objective comparison tool for the many surgical procedures that have been described.
Study design: We reviewed the case histories of 22 patients between March 1999 and March 2000 who had stress urinary incontinence and underwent Burch colposuspension and in whom the diagnosis of stress urinary incontinence was made using urodynamic studies and the cotton-tipped-swab test. The surgical therapeutic index was then calculated using the median percentage cure rate and complication rate.
Results: The surgical cure rates were 81.8%, 81.8%, 90.9%, 90.9%, 95.4% and 95.4% at postoperative 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th and 12th month, respectively, and the surgical complication rates were 69%, 36%, 31.5%, 27%, 22.5% and 27%. The surgical therapeutic indices for each postoperative period were 1.19, 2.27, 2.89, 3.37, 4.24 and 3.53, respectively. The surgical cure rate for Burch colposuspension in stress urinary incontinence was 95.4% 1 year after surgery, and the surgical therapeutic index 1 month and 1 year after surgery was 1.19 and 3.53, respectively.
Conclusion: Burch colposuspension is a relatively effective and safe surgical procedure for managing stress urinary incontinence.