ABSTRACT
I. INTRODUCTION Since the first pubovaginal sling (PVS) was described by Von Giordano in 1907 (Table 1) (1), the PVS has evolved into the gold standard for the surgical treatment of female stress urinary incontinence (SUI) caused by intrinsic sphincter deficiency (ISD), and it is used as a first-line surgical therapy for SUI associated with urethral hypermobility. PVSs are placed beneath the proximal urethra and bladder neck to provide a hammock effect as well as direct urethral compression. The sling serves as a “backstop” to prevent urethral descensus and opening when increased intra-abdominal pressure occurs.
