Role of Extended Transperineal Ultrasound in Differentiating Type of Midurethral Slings: An exploratory study.

Authors

Miriam O'Kane, Hayser Medina Lucena, Amreen Shakur, Ashish Pradhan, Susan Freeman, Ivilina Pandeva

Published in

The French journal of urology. Pages 103195. Sep 05, 2026. Epub Sep 05, 2026.

Abstract

Accurate differentiation between retropubic (RPT) and transobturator (TOT) slings is essential for guiding management of mesh-related complications. This study evaluates extended two-dimensional (2D) transperineal ultrasound (TPUS), incorporating targeted adductor compartment scanning, for sling classification, and assesses the effect of clinician experience on image interpretation.
This retrospective analysis included women attending a tertiary pelvic floor imaging clinic. In a primary analysis, original TPUS and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) reports were compared with operative records as the reference standard. In a secondary analysis, extended 2D TPUS images were independently reviewed by four blinded clinicians with differing levels of experience to assess interobserver agreement and reproducibility.
Forty-two women were included. TPUS correctly identified all sling types with 100% accuracy (35/35; 95% CI 90.1-100.0). MRI correctly classified all cases in which a definitive sling type was reported (26/26), but six MRI examinations were non-diagnostic; when these were included, overall MRI accuracy decreased to 81.3% (26/32; 95% CI 64.7-91.1). Concordance between TPUS and MRI was 71.8% (28/39), with moderate agreement (κ = 0.46; 95% CI [0.20-0.72]). In the secondary blinded review analysis, observer performance varied according to experience, with near-perfect agreement among experts and lower agreement among less experienced clinicians.
Extended 2D TPUS can accurately identify sling type in specialist practiceand represents a practical first-line imaging modality. However, interpretation is operator-dependent, highlighting the importance of structured training and standardized imaging protocols.

PMID:
42700930
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 06 Sep 2026.

Read full publication at:
Please sign in to see all details.

Stats

1-terrible, 9-excellent. How would you rate this publication? Sign in in to submit your rating.

Post a comment

You need to be signed in to post comments. You can sign in here.

Comments

There are no comments yet.