Researchers conducting the largest randomized, clinical-equivalence trial comparing two mid-urethral sling procedures for female urinary incontinence say he two have equal efficacy – but may present different types of complications. The study results were presented May 17 during the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists 58th Annual Clinical Meeting in San Francisco and simultaneously published online by the New England Journal of Medicine.

Urinary incontinence affects up to 50 percent of women in the United States, resulting in significant medical, social and economic burdens. Among women with urinary incontinence, 15 to 80 percent have a component of stress incontinence, in which leakage of urine occurs during physical exertion, sneezing and coughing. Four to 10 percent of these women undergo surgery to fix the disorder.

“We did not know before this study is if one approach results in better efficacy than the other,” said Holly Richter, Ph.D., M.D., director of the Division of Women’s Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery and lead author of the study. “This study has helped answer that question and should help provide outcome and safety information to pelvic surgeons and their patients so that they can make better-informed treatment decisions.”