FAQs on the Collège’s investigation into suburethral slings

We suggest that you contact the doctor who performed the surgery directly or the Archives Department of the hospital where you had the procedure. The information should be in your record.

Although uncommon, the possible complications and side effects are as follows:

• pain during sexual intercourse;
• chronic disabling pain (which may mean you are unable to do certain activities or sports you did before the surgery);
• perforation or erosion of the bladder, urethra or vagina.

However, it would be risky to stick to these strict criteria in an attempt to make a self‑diagnosis. This is why we recommend that, if possible, you go back to the surgeon who placed the sling to have a rigorous and complete clinical assessment.

If, for any reason, you cannot or do not want to go back to see the surgeon who placed the sling, go and see your family doctor, who will be able to refer you to another specialist in urology or gynecology in one of Quebec’s university hospital centres (CHUM, MUHC, CHUS and CHU de Québec).

If you want to have your suburethral sling removed, the best way to go about it is to have a consultation with a specialist in urology or gynecology.

You could contact the surgeon who placed your sling so that they can assess your situation.

If, for any reason, you cannot or do not want to go back to see the surgeon who placed the sling, go and see your family doctor, who will be able to refer you to another specialist in urology or gynecology in one of Quebec’s university hospital centres (CHUM, MUHC, CHUS and CHU de Québec).

If you are not satisfied with the services provided by a doctor or believe that they did not fulfil their professional obligations, you can inform the Collège about the situation by submitting a request for an inquiry. Go to the “Complaint form” page for explanations about requesting an inquiry.

You will also find information about the inquiry process in the leaflet “How to file a complaint against a physician”.

If you have any other questions about the complaints process, you can also write to info@cmq.org.