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Stress Urinary IncontinenceNCT03520114

Retropubic vs. Single-Incision Mid-Urethral Sling for Stress Urinary Incontinence

A study testing RP sling placement and SIS placement in people with Stress Urinary Incontinence and Pelvic Floor Disorders, run by Wake Forest University Health Sciences at 6 sites in United States.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

One in five women will undergo prolapse surgery in their lifetime, and there is a strong correlation between prolapse and urinary incontinence. Pelvic floor surgeons aspire to improve relevant quality of life outcomes for women with pelvic floor disorders while minimizing complications and unnecessary procedures. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 21 years and older, women only
What is being tested?
RP sling placement and SIS placement
Type of treatment
Medical device
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
280 participants
Where
6 sitesUnited States
Study dates
12 Dec 2018to 2 Jan 2024
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
Yes, posted in the registrySummary in the doctors' view

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 21 years and older
  • Women only
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • At least 21 years of age
  • Women being considered for a native tissue vaginal repair in any vaginal compartment or colpocleisis
  • POP ≥ stage II of any vaginal compartment, according to the pelvic organ prolapse quantification (POP-Q) system
  • Vaginal bulge symptoms
  • Positive standardized cough stress test on clinical examination, or on urodynamic testing
  • Surgical plan that includes a native tissue vaginal repair including colpocleisis for symptomatic POP in any compartment
Show all 9Show fewer
  • Understanding and acceptance of the need to return for all scheduled follow-up visits
  • English speaking and able to give informed consent
  • Willing and able to complete all study questionnaires

Who cannot join

  • Prior surgery for stress urinary incontinence
  • Status post reconstructive pelvic surgery with transvaginal mesh kits or sacrocolpopexy with synthetic mesh for prolapse
  • Any serious disease, or chronic condition, that could interfere with the study compliance
  • Unwilling to have a synthetic sling
  • Inability to give informed consent
  • Pregnancy or planning pregnancy in the first postoperative year
Show all 14Show fewer
  • Untreated urinary tract infection (may be included after resolution)
  • Poorly-controlled diabetes mellitus (HgbA1c > 9 within 3 months of surgery date)
  • Prior pelvic radiation
  • Incarcerated
  • Neurogenic bladder/ pre-operative self-catheterization
  • Elevated post-void residual (>150 ml) that does not resolve with prolapse reduction testing (pessary, prolapse reduced uroflow or micturition study)
  • Prior augmented (synthetic mesh, autologous graft, xenograft, allograft) prolapse repair
  • Planned concomitant bowel related surgery including sphincteroplasty and perineal rectal prolapse surgery, rectovaginal fistula repair, hemorrhoidectomy.

Trial locations and contacts

6 sites in 1 country.

6 sites in 1 country

United States6 sites
  • Northwestern Medical Group

    Chicago, Illinois, 60611

  • Cleveland Clinic

    Cleveland, Ohio, 44195

  • Northwell Health

    Manhasset, New York, 11030

  • Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island

    Providence, Rhode Island, 02903

  • MedStar Health/National Center for Advance Pelvic Surgery

    Washington D.C., District of Columbia, 20010

  • Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center

    Winston-Salem, North Carolina, 27157

Other trials in United States

About this study

Official title: Randomized Trial of Retropubic Versus Single-incision Mid-Urethral Sling (Altis ) for Concomitant Management of Stress Urinary Incontinence During Native Tissue Vaginal Repair

One in five women will undergo prolapse surgery in their lifetime, and there is a strong correlation between prolapse and urinary incontinence. Pelvic floor surgeons aspire to improve relevant quality of life outcomes for women with pelvic floor disorders while minimizing complications and unnecessary procedures. There has been an experience of disappointment and frustration when a patient returns following POP repair with new symptoms of Stress Urinary Incontinence (SUI) that she ranks as a greater disruption to her quality of life than her original vaginal bulge. While retropubic (RP) slings are considered to be the "gold-standard" referent for other slings with long-term outcomes data, they are associated with the highest risks of intra- and post-operative complications including bladder injury, bleeding, and post-operative voiding dysfunction. Single-incision slings (SIS) are the latest iteration in sling development that build upon the benefits of slings but avoid passage through the muscles of the inner thigh. The hypothesis for this study is that single-incision slings (Altis) are non-inferior to Retropubic mid-urethral slings when placed at the time of native tissue vaginal repair.

Read the detailed description

Pelvic floor surgeons aspire to improve relevant quality of life outcomes for women with pelvic floor disorders while minimizing complications and unnecessary procedures. Efficacy and risk always compete for equilibrium. Level I evidence has demonstrated a positive efficacy benefit of a concomitant synthetic mid-urethral sling in women with, and without, pre-operative symptoms of SUI who are undergoing POP repair. Concomitant sling placement has been shown to reduce the risk of de novo or persistent SUI from 50% to 23%. The combination of surgical treatment of POP and SUI at the same time, however, increases the risk of incomplete bladder emptying. While retropubic (RP) slings are considered to be the "gold-standard" referent for other slings with long-term outcomes data, they are associated with the highest risks of intra- and post-operative complications including bladder injury, bleeding, and post-operative voiding dysfunction. Single-incision slings (SIS) are the latest iteration in sling development that build upon the benefits of slings but avoid passage through the muscles of the inner thigh. As the combination of POP and sling surgery increases the risk of voiding dysfunction, and rates of incomplete bladder emptying appear significantly lower for SIS than RP slings, the study team hypothesizes that the use of the Single-incision Mid-Urethral Sling SIS will be non-inferior to RP slings in efficacy and superior in irritative voiding symptoms/voiding dysfunction at one year after combined surgery.

Being tested
RP sling placement, SIS placement
Keywords
Retropubic sling, Single-incision sling, Vaginal repair, Management
Medical subject headings
Urinary Incontinence, Stress, Pelvic Floor Disorders

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • RP sling placementDevice

    A 1.5 cm incision will be made at the mid-urethra through a separate vaginal incision with lateral dissection with Metzembaum scissors. After placement of both trocars, cystoscopy with a 70-degree scope will be performed to assess for bladder and urethral injury. Surgeons will set the tension of the tension-free vaginal tape (TVT) slings so that a spacer can be placed between the sling and the urethra. Sling tensioning will be performed after anterior and apical prolapse is corrected.

  • SIS placementDevice

    The sling is introduced through a single anterior vaginal incision of 1.5 cm at the mid-urethra. The sling/needle assembly is advanced behind the ischiopubic rami in a transobturator trajectory toward the obturator space bilaterally. The needle is then removed by simply sliding the fixating tip back out. The other side is then completed in an identical fashion. After the fixation of the two anchors at the 2 and 10 o'clock positions, the patient's bladder is filled with 250 mL of Sodium Chloride (NaCl). Afterward, an intraoperative crede maneuver is performed and the tension adjustment suture is pulled, when necessary, to achieve the desired continence. The mesh will lie in direct apposition to the urethra. The adjustment thread is then cut short and the vaginal incision is closed with an absorbable suture.

Study groups in NCT03520114
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
RP sling groupExperimentalParticipants assigned to the retropubic (RP) sling group will have the RP sling placement procedure.
Receives: Device: RP sling placement
SIS groupExperimentalParticipants assigned to the single-incision sling (SIS) group will have the SIS placement procedure.
Receives: Device: SIS placement

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Number of Participants With Subjectively Bothersome Stress Incontinence

    Dichotomous outcome (Yes/No), measured by a positive response of > 1 to Question 17 on Pelvic Floor Distress Inventory short form-20 (PFDI-20). Response scale from 0 to 4. Symptoms Not Present = NO 0 = not present Symptoms Present = YES, scale of bother: 1 = not at all, 2 = somewhat, 3 = moderately, 4 = quite a bit

    Measured: 12 months post-operatively

  2. Count of Participants Needing Retreatment for Stress Incontinence

    This includes pelvic floor physical therapy; incontinence pessary; urethral bulking injection; repeat incontinence surgery.

    Measured: 12 months post-operatively

  3. Count of Participants With De Novo or Worsening Urge Incontinence Symptoms

    Dichotomous outcome (Yes/No), measured by a worsening change in response to Question 16 on PFDI-20 with at least somewhat bothersome symptoms. Response scale from 0 to 4. Symptoms Not Present = NO 0 = not present Symptoms Present = YES, scale of bother: 1 = not at all, 2 = somewhat, 3 = moderately, 4 = quite a bit

    Measured: 12 months post-operatively

  4. Count of Participants Requiring Bladder Drainage

    Beyond 2 weeks post-operatively with PVR > 150 ml OR > 1/3 total voided volume up to 12 Month post-operatively..

    Measured: 12 Month post-operatively

  5. Count of Participants Needing Surgical Intervention for Urinary Retention

    Sling lysis or revision at any time point post-operatively up to 12 Month post-operatively.

    Measured: 12 Month post-operatively

Secondary outcomes (2)
  1. Number of Participants With Adverse Events

    Reporting of adverse events intra- and post-operatively and include adverse events as measured by the Dindo classification system.

    Measured: 12 months post-operatively

  2. Surgeon Satisfaction Scores

    Surgeon satisfaction with the sling will be assessed with a 10-point Likert Scale. The scale has a score range of 0-10, with 0=no satisfaction 10=extremely satisfied.

    Measured: post-operatively up to 12 months

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted9 May 2018
  2. Study start12 Dec 2018
  3. Primary completion2 Jan 2024
  4. Study completion2 Jan 2024

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Masking
Single blind
Who is masked
Participant
Enrolment
280 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT03520114
Sponsor's protocol ID
IRB00050256
Status last verified
Sep 2023
First submitted
26 Apr 2018
Last updated
16 Jan 2025
Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
Yes
Individual data sharing
No

Publications

  • Mezes CM, Russell GB, Gutman RE, Iglesia C, Rardin C, Kenton K, Collins S, Matthews CA. Effect of Vaginal Prolapse Repair and Midurethral Sling on Urgency Incontinence Symptoms. Urogynecology (Phila). 2025 Mar 1;31(3):250-257. doi: 10.1097/SPV.0000000000001620. Epub 2024 Dec 13.

    PubMed 39689213
  • Matthews CA, Rardin CR, Sokol A, Iglesia C, Collins S, Ferrando C, Winkler H, Kenton K, Geynisman-Tan J, Gutman RE. A randomized trial of retropubic vs single-incision sling among patients undergoing vaginal prolapse repair. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2024 Aug;231(2):261.e1-261.e10. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2024.04.036. Epub 2024 May 3.

    PubMed 38705225
  • Carter E, Johnson EE, Still M, Al-Assaf AS, Bryant A, Aluko P, Jeffery ST, Nambiar A. Single-incision sling operations for urinary incontinence in women. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2023 Oct 27;10(10):CD008709. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD008709.pub4.

    PubMed 37888839

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing RP sling placement and SIS placement in people with Stress Urinary Incontinence and Pelvic Floor Disorders, run by Wake Forest University Health Sciences at 6 sites in United States.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 9 inclusion and 14 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 16 Jan 2025. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 6 sites in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

Yes. Results are posted in the registry (first posted 16 Jan 2025). A summary is in the For doctors view, and the full results are on ClinicalTrials.gov.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Number of Participants With Subjectively Bothersome Stress Incontinence (time frame: 12 months post-operatively). The study lists 5 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT03520114, which also lists 3 linked publications.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 16 Jan 2025.

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