[Importance of the suture material in the surgery of genuine stress urinary incontinence].

Between July 1978 and November 1985, 73 abdominal operations were performed for the surgical correction of genuine stress incontinence using the Marshall-Marchetti-Krantz technique. Non-absorbable suture materials were used in the vesicourethropexy in 30 case (41%) and absorbable suture materials in 43 cases (59%). A relapse was not observed after two years of follow-up in the group of patients operated on with nonabsorbable suture materials while a relapse of 5% after one month, 14% after six months, 22% after one year and 44% after two years was observed in the group of patients operated on with absorbable suture materials. A statistically significant difference was found between both groups after one year (p = 0.031) and after two years (p = 0.012) of follow up. The postoperative complications were similar in both groups, urinary infection being the most frequent one. We conclude that nonabsorbable suture materials offer definitive advantages with respect to absorbable suture materials in the abdominal surgical correction of genuine stress incontinence.