The contemporary role of Burch colposuspension

Abstract

The open Burch procedure with its long-term success rates remains a gold standard for surgical treatment of genuine stress urinary incontinence. Less invasive Burch procedures require longer term follow-up studies with comparison to the open approach and tension-free vaginal tape before its role can be settled. At this point, tension-free vaginal tape appears to be at least equivalent to the Burch colposuspension and, with longer follow-up studies, may challenge its role as a gold standard surgical treatment for female stress incontinence.

Is the role of Burch colposuspension fading away in this epoch for treating female urinary incontinence?

“…Fifteen (9.9%) patients complained of inguinal pain after the operation (postcolposuspension syndrome). The median hospital stay was 8 days (range [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]. The median postoperative bladder training time was 4 days (range 2-11).…”

“…A number of new designs using less invasive mid-urethral vaginal tape procedures have challenged the status of the Burch colposuspension. The innovative, less invasive procedures have gained wide acceptance and also offer improved safety and shorter hospital stays while maintaining the efficacy of traditional surgery [7]. Meanwhile, these new surgical techniques seem to achieve improved results with lower morbidity and quicker recovery times than the conventional techniques [8].…”

Surgery for stress urinary incontinence in women: A 2006 review

“…[18] However, the available literature does not report a higher complication rate than for other surgical techniques to correct SUI.…”