Need to hear urethral sling success stories, pretty please!

I am going to be having a lavh and am considering a urethral sling to be done at the same time. I am settled on the lavh, but am very concerned about the mesh material my dr. says she uses for the sling. I have read the FDA warning and there are many MANY more horror stories on the interent regarding this procedure, than there are success stories. I do not want my quality of life to get worse than it is already by having this done. One thing that I can't find is info on these horror stories about elevated risk factors that may have caused these adverse reactions etc. I have medium stress incontinence (having urodynamics on 9/1) and would like to quit wetting myself when I get out of the car, lift, sneeze, laugh, or cough. It's embarassing and annoying to say the least.

So.....anyone out there have this procedure and can share their success story with me? Or perhaps you had a bad experience, but had underlying risk factors?

I also have another question....kinda gross....but does anyone have the issue where no matter what size tampon you use(d) it finds it's way out, or at least partially out? Is this due to vaginal stretching (3 big vaginal births for me) or perhaps prolapse? I also have a very heavy, full feeling when sitting on the toilet as if things are not as tight as they should be and that if I strained things would come out that are not supposed to.

This is all so ick to talk about, but I figure this is the place to ask some of these questions.

Thanks in advance for any and all stories and info you care to share with me.

Signed,
about sling procedure

This is the place to ask those gross questions as almost everryone post-op has become quite matter of fact about it. I had all the gross symptoms you listed prior to my TVH and repairs and they were all related to my prolapses. It all feels and works much better now!

I had a different repair for my bladder than the one that has been recommended for you. You are wise to investigate the risks associated with your surgery. To work out how serious those risks are, ask the doctor on your next appointment how often the adverse events occur. i.e. what % of women who have the surgery proposed for you have
- failure of the procedure
- erosion of the mesh
- rejection of the mesh
- worse incontinence after the procedure

What % have a successful outcome?

This will enable you to get the risks into perspective. Bad news stories make better reading, while those who've had successful surgery are too busy getting on with their lives to report in!

Good luck with your decision and post again to tell us how it went.

J

	Quote:
Originally Posted by angiej I am going to be having a lavh and am considering a urethral sling to be done at the same time. I am settled on the lavh, but am very concerned about the mesh material my dr. says she uses for the sling. I have read the FDA warning and there are many MANY more horror stories on the interent regarding this procedure, than there are success stories. I do not want my quality of life to get worse than it is already by having this done. One thing that I can't find is info on these horror stories about elevated risk factors that may have caused these adverse reactions etc. I have medium stress incontinence (having urodynamics on 9/1) and would like to quit wetting myself when I get out of the car, lift, sneeze, laugh, or cough. It's embarassing and annoying to say the least. So.....anyone out there have this procedure and can share their success story with me? Or perhaps you had a bad experience, but had underlying risk factors? I also have another question....kinda gross....but does anyone have the issue where no matter what size tampon you use(d) it finds it's way out, or at least partially out? Is this due to vaginal stretching (3 big vaginal births for me) or perhaps prolapse? I also have a very heavy, full feeling when sitting on the toilet as if things are not as tight as they should be and that if I strained things would come out that are not supposed to. This is all so ick to talk about, but I figure this is the place to ask some of these questions. Thanks in advance for any and all stories and info you care to share with me. Signed, about sling procedure

I am in the position now a little over 6 weeks after a hysterctomy of having severe bladdr and rectal issues post-op as the removal of the uterus made room for bigger prolapses I guess.

Now I am looking at another surgery, my 3rd this year in fact as my bladder is sitting in my vagina. and I have severe rectocele... I have to wait for another 2-3 weeks for surgery to allow healing (my bladder got lacerated during surgery and it has to heal before the A&P repair...

I had a tiny bit of stress incontince pre-op but now I'm wearing poise pads 24x7 and am very uncomfortable and back taking narcotic pan medicine again for the severe pain... I cant sit long, walk long, stand long... Im not bleeding anymore but I am in agony... If I knew I could have avoid this by an A&P repair during my hysterectomy I would have went for it....

do you know if you have a cystocele or retrocele? I'd ask my doctor for a definintive answer on that before making a decision and also ask him if you do and do nothing could the hysterectomy make it worse? Are they taking your ovaries too? If you go into surgical menopause then the proplapses can worsen too....and by tghe advice I have read on this board if you decide to go ahead with bladder surgery try and find a uro/gyn... my gyn who delivered my babies did my hysterectomy. he lacerated my bladder and didnt see my retrocele and cystocele pre-op... I wish I had went to a uro/gyn... I guess my current urologist is going to refer me to one now to do the next surgery...

please try and get an answer from your doctor on these issues so you dont find yourself in my position post-op.

it's hellish.

and btw dont worry about ick... on this section of the board most all of us have bladder and rectal issues so we have heard and experienced it all... what's ick is living through it and not getting relief... I am learning as I go here and wish I asked some of the questions you are pre-op and maybe I could have been much better by now!

Hi Angiej:
I had a tvh, anterior repairs and bladder sling on June 1st and I feel like a completely different person. Yes, there are success stories out there. Sometimes you only hear the horror stories and the ones with success have moved on with their lives and don't have time to post anymore. I decided to stay in touch to help anyone struggling with these issues, at least for awhile so they know that there are very good results. I had a third degree cystocele, with a second degree uterine prolapse and stress incontinence. Believe me, my bladder was about one inch from completely falling out and my doctor told me that if we left things the way they were my uterus would eventually flip inside out. Yikes! I was terrified of having this surgery as I had heard so many negative things out there on the internet, especially regarding the bladder sling. Actually, it really isn't a bladder sling per se, it is more like a urethral sling which acts as a "backboard", but not as pressure. I had my ob/gyn as my surgeon who performed the hysterectomy, and a urologist who performed the sling procedure. Both of these doctors were highly experienced in their areas. My urologist said that in all of the transobturator procedures (TOT) he has done through the years there was only a problem with two of them - one it did not work on and the other had mesh erosion and it had to be removed. I believe the failure rate regarding mesh erosion is about 2%, which is not very high. My surgeon also performed anterior repairs on me to give strength over the bladder and to provide extra support. This is not a minor procedure, by any means. Anyway, I went for it and had everything done. I came through the surgery with flying colors and have had no problems since. I did not even have pain after the surgery, just some mild cramping (I have had much worse menstrual cramps, believe me). I only hit the pain pump twice in the hospital and was released 27 hours later. After that, I took tylenol when I needed it. My urologist explained to me that it would take about 6 months for my tissue to completely form around the mesh (the mesh is like chicken wire but really tape). But, I could see almost immediate relief regarding the stress incontinence after the surgery and when the swelling went down around my vagina. It is now 12 weeks later and for the first time in many, many years I am not wearing pantiliners and I do not leak urine when I cough, sneeze or laugh. Not only that, but my sex life with my husband is fantastic! Could not be better. I am 56 and had already gone through menopause and my doctor left my ovaries as she could not even find them during surgery (and I am sure she really, really searched for them LOL) As it turns out, having this surgery was a blessing as my pathology report stated simple to complex endometrial hyperplasia with focal atypia and extensive adenomyosis. If this had been left, I could have had bigger problems than having a prolapsed bladder, etc. Please do some research on all of this, get a second opinion if necessary and find doctors qualified to do this type of surgery. However, don't do what I did - which was pour over every horror story out there. I second guessed myself for three months before having this surgery and almost backed out a couple of times. I am so very glad that I didn't do that as my life is great now and I feel wonderful. I exercise one hour a day (swimming, walking and elliptical) and have lost 60 pounds in the last 14 months. I worked out every day up until the day of my surgery and I think that is one of the reasons why my recovery was uncomplicated. I think it is important to do your "homework" on these issues as this is major surgery, but we also need to keep things in perspective. Best of luck to you and I am sure you will make the right decision for your situation.

I had my TOT procedure done Dec 2007. I had mild stress incontinence but since I was having a rectocele repaired it made sense to due the TOT at the same time. The first few weeks post-op I did have a few problems, probably due to swelling. There were times, usually in the a.m. at first voiding that I would have difficulty emptying my bladder. I would start, then stop and start again. After 2 or 3 weeks that started to get better. Today, I have no problems. I can jump, run and sneeze without any leaks. I empty my bladder without problems. I'm glad I had it done. If I can answer any more questions feel free to ask.

Two mesh sling and total A&P repair with success. Second sling was too tight and had to be loosened but no problems with mesh part!!