My female urologist recommended a surgical sling for my stress incontinence. she told me the pros. what are the cons?

Retention, injury: Most common complications of sling include not completely resolving the incontinence, sling being a little too tight and having difficulty urinating, and injury to nearby organs. Pain during intercourse can also happen. These complications are all fairly uncommon, but you should visit with your doc about their rate of complications.

Many things: The cons of the operation are multiple. Specifically, the surgery could lead to bleeding, infection, damage to nearby structures such as the bladder, bowel, nerves, or blood vessels. Post operatively, the sling could cause retention of urine, erode into the urethra causing infection and pain, and it may not totally correct the urinary incontinence.

Varies: Your symptoms could get worse. The sling could erode into your bladder, vagina, or bowel. You could develop an infection and require additional surgery. However, few people have those complications - most patient have dramatic improvement in their symptoms after the surgery.

Its surgery: In appropriately selected patients a sling can be a very successful minimally invasive treatment for stress incontinence. Any surgery can have complications of bleeding, infection or pain among other things. You should discuss risks with your surgeon. A sling may be the best choice for you but their are other treatments available. Your urologist would likely discuss them with you if you asked.