Journal Retracts Mini-Sling Incontinence Study Following Data and Randomization Concerns

The Editor-in-Chief of Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics has formally retracted an eighteen-month randomized prospective clinical evaluation comparing two distinct surgical configurations of needleless mini-slings for the clinical management of stress urinary incontinence. The formal retraction notice, published in August 2026, officially withdraws the comparative trial initially published online on March 19, 2018. The editorial action was initiated after extensive post-publication evaluations raised serious methodological and statistical concerns regarding the integrity of the primary dataset and the execution of the prospective clinical trial.

Originally authored by researchers Ozan Dogan, Alper Basbug, Aski Ellibes Kaya, Cigdem Pulatoglu, and Murat Yassa, the retracted clinical investigation aimed to assess eighteen-month follow-up outcomes between the hammock configuration and the U-shape configuration of needleless mini-sling procedures. Published in volume 297 of the journal, the paper purported to provide prospective comparative findings for patients undergoing corrective treatment for stress urinary incontinence.

A primary catalyst for the editorial intervention involved the baseline characteristics presented in Table 1 of the original publication. Independent assessments established that the baseline values reported for participant body mass index and the duration of stress urinary incontinence were highly statistically significant between the trial groups.

Detailed editorial review established that Table 3 contained multiple data values that appeared to be duplicated and repeated within the same table. In response to these identified anomalies, the authors submitted the raw study dataset to the journal for detailed evaluation, yet subsequent post-publication statistical review detected further apparent inconsistencies across the underlying records.

Because the persistent statistical contradictions could not be resolved, the Editor-in-Chief determined that confidence in the presented results and overall conclusions had been entirely compromised, necessitating an official retraction of the paper. Although the journal concluded that the published findings could no longer be supported by the available data, author Murat Yassa communicated on behalf of all original authors that they actively dispute the editorial assessment and do not agree to the retraction.

Subject of Research: Retraction of needleless mini-sling stress urinary incontinence comparative trial

Article Title: Retraction Note: A randomized prospective comparison of the needleless mini‑sling “hammock” and “U‑shape” configurations for management of stress urinary incontinence: 18 month follow‑up results

Article References: Dogan, O., Basbug, A., Kaya, A. E., Pulatoglu, C., & Yassa, M. (2026). Retraction Note: A randomized prospective comparison of the needleless mini‑sling “hammock” and “U‑shape” configurations for management of stress urinary incontinence: 18 month follow‑up results. Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics, 313(1), Article 250. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-026-08555-4

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1007/s00404-026-08555-4

Keywords: Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics, retraction note, stress urinary incontinence, needleless mini-sling, hammock configuration, U-shape configuration, randomized prospective comparison, 18-month follow-up, study randomization, post-publication review, data inconsistencies, body mass index, duration of SUI, repeated values, raw data review, Murat Yassa, Ozan Dogan, statistical review