Single incision mini-sling versus a transobutaror sling: a comparative study on MiniArc™ and Monarc™ slings

A retrospective, dual-center, cohort study on the single incision MiniArc sling and the transobturator Monarc sling in the treatment of stress urinary incontinence is presented. We hypothesized that both systems would perform equally well. One hundred thirty-one (MiniArc n = 75, Monarc n = 56) consecutive patients were evaluated. Evaluation was performed by cough stress test (CST), daily pad use, IIQ-7, UDI-6, and a 0-5 visual analog scale for quality of life. The 1-year data are presented. Six weeks after surgery, 91% of the patients in both populations had a negative CST. At 1 year, 85% of the MiniArc group and 89% of the Monarc group (p = 0.60) maintained a negative CST. QoL, symptom scores, and number of pads improved significantly and were comparable in both groups. Complication rates were similar. These results suggest that MiniArc sling and Monarc sling are equally effective in the treatment of stress incontinence at 1 year follow-up.