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SUB-URETHRAL SLING:
POSTOPERATIVE PATIENT INFORMATION
You have undergone a sub-urethral sling procedure to provide support to the urethra. The goal of this sling procedure is the correction of stress urinary incontinence. Careful adherence to the following instructions is imperative to a safe and satisfying result. Patience, realistic expectations, and positive attitude always help expedite a Your normal diet and medications can be resumed immediately. A healthy and balanced diet with plenty of fruit, vegetables and fiber will facilitate healing and help prevent bowel difficulties. Bathing and showering are permissible. Most daily activities can be resumed as well; in fact, walking and stair climbing are desirable and beneficial. Any non-strenuous activity is permissible as long as pain is not experienced—if it does not hurt, it can be done. If you do experience pain with activities, it is a signal to ease up. In order to maximize your chances for long-term cure of the incontinence, it is important to avoid lifting heavy objects, strenuous exercise, tampon placement, and sexual intercourse for about four to six weeks. Additionally, it is extremely important to avoid straining with bowel movements. In general, you can resume work within a week or so, even sooner if you have a * Pediatric Urology Diplomates of the American Board of Urology Prior to being discharged, you will be given a prescription for antibiotics and pain medicine. It is important to complete the course of the antibiotics in order to avoid a urinary or pelvic infection. The pain medication can be used on an as needed basis. It should be noted that narcotic pain medications have many side effects including nausea, constipation, and a general feeling of being "unwell." If you are experiencing such symptoms, it may be beneficial to switch to an over the counter anti- Vaginal, pubic, groin, and pelvic discomfort are to be expected for several weeks. Vaginal spotting of blood is typical for several weeks and it is therefore recommended that you wear a pad until this resolves. The stitches used for the surgery will normally dissolve within 6 weeks, and until that time, they may feel sharp, similar to whiskers, and the stitches may also cause a yellowish vaginal discharge that persists until they dissolve. The tiny incisions in the groin area are closed with Dermabond, a skin Most patients are able to urinate satisfactorily within a few hours of the sling; however, a small percentage of patients will encounter voiding difficulties for the first day or so after the procedure. If you are unable to void by several hours after the procedure, you will be sent home with a urinary catheter which can generally be removed within a day or so. Bladder function may take several days to several weeks to fully normalize. Slow flow, incomplete emptying, frequency and urgency are common for the first week or two after a sling procedure. The combination of undergoing a surgical procedure, anesthesia, and pain medication often leads to acute constipation. It is thus recommended that you immediately start on a stool softener such as Colace 100 mg twice daily, in an effort to avoid constipation. Remember, the more pain pills you take, the more likely you are to develop a bowel problem. Therefore, you have to carefully consider the benefit of the pain pill versus the bowel side effects. If you have not moved your bowels on the Colace regimen by the day following surgery, you may take one bottle of Magnesium Citrate. If you still have not moved your bowels by the day after taking the Magnesium Citrate, you may use a 10 mg. Dulcolax rectal suppository, which may be repeated within one hour if no response. All of the aforementioned are available It is imperative that you be followed carefully in the post-operative period. Most patients are seen approximately 2 weeks after their surgery, again at 6 weeks after their surgery, and one year following the surgery. Please call the office for a follow up visit, specifying that it is a "post-operative" office visit. At the time of the visit, an examination of the operative site will be made to check the progress of the wound

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