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INTRODUCTION: Sacral nerve stimulation (SNS) has proven to be an effective treatment of refractory overactive bladder (OAB), urinary retention, and idiopathic fecal incontinence. Many studies assessing the effectiveness of this treatment, however, often focus on the short- to medium-term effectiveness (less than 24 months) with a few studies extending up to five years. The purpose of this study is to determine whether patients continue to retain SNS 5 years after implantation. METHODS: This study was performed using health insurance claims data from Clinformatics DataMart. Data were collected between January 1st, 2002 and September 30th, 2014. Diagnoses and procedures were identified based on International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification and Current Procedural Terminology codes. Data were initially screened for patients who had completed SNS implantation (n=2248). Inclusion criteria included women aged 18-65 who had had continuous insurance enrollment in the prior year (n=1231). Patients were excluded if they had had procedures associated with SNS treatment in the prior year (n=884). For each year, we assessed the number of patients who still had the SNS implant compared to the number of patients who had the SNS implant removed during follow-up. RESULTS: At year one, 85.8% of patients had retained the SNS implant (549/640). At year two, 81.4% (341/419). At year three, 78.1% (210/269). At year four, 79.0% (124/157). And at year five, 72.0% (67/93). CONCLUSION: The retention rate for SNS as a treatment for refractory OAB, urinary retention, and idiopathic fecal incontinence continues to be high at five years follow-up.