News & Announcements
SUFU Joint Position Statement with AUGS Regarding the Role of The Mid Urethral Sling In the Treatment of SUI In Women
posted: April 15, 2016
The recent decision of Astora Women’s Health to close down operations has highlighted important changes in the marketplace that certainly may affect many SUFU members who treat women with stress urinary incontinence. Though individual companies will make their own decisions to protect investors and maintain stability, we at SUFU stand by our joint position statement with AUGS regarding the role of the mid urethral sling in the treatment of SUI in women. We recognize that further loss of industry partners in the MUS arena could potentially limit the care we can provide to our patients and we will work diligently to ensure that our options are not limited, and that quality data on this topic is appropriately disseminated.
While we are currently in the process of reevaluating the position statement together with AUGS, the AUA and others, it remains clear that the mid urethral sling is still the most widely studied treatment for SUI with the highest quality long-term data available. Clearly, patients deserve a thorough explanation of all treatment options as well as the potential risks and benefits of these options, and MUS should be a part of this discussion. We encourage you to use the joint position statement on MUS as part of your discussion with patients.
SUFU is committed to ongoing investigation and innovation to improve the care of our patients. We will continue to explore other avenues through which we can generate open discussions regarding the data on current SUI options in an effort to generate consensus regarding available treatments, and to create a venue for a discussion about potential new innovative strategies.
The Executive Committee welcomes your input. If you have any suggestions for the SUFU Executive Committee regarding this issue please send them to the SUFU Executive Office at info@sufuorg.com.
Sincerely,
Gary Lemack, MD
SUFU President