The best interest of the patient is the only interest to be considered.William J. MayoStress urinary incontinence (SUI) is encountered in as many as 20% of women with adverse social and hygienic consequences [1]. Recently, most studies have shown that the majority of surgical procedures, particularly the minimally invasive midurethral slings, are both safe and effective treatment of female SUI. However, the success rates reported varied between studies, depending on whether objective or subjective outcomes had been measured. The postoperative objective and subjective cure rates were not also correlated in most of these studies. For example, a recent review gives a very wide range of short-term success rates of various surgical procedures for treatment of female SUI, from 32% to 100% [1]. It is extremely important that comparison of the results of surgical treatment of SUI between different surgeons and centers as well as patient counseling is based on robust scientific evidence that includes valid and accurate assessment of the treatment outcome. It seems timely, therefore, to discuss this topic further mainly by addressing three main questions: What do we mean by surgical cure of SUI? How do we measure this cure? What is the definition of success of operative intervention for SUI?There has been a lack of consensus in the urogynecologic community about which postoperative outcome measure to use to evaluate the efficacy of surgical procedures for SUI. Castillo et al. [2] analyzed 91 surgical series of SUI and reported that 33% of these studies used only subjective measures, 4% only objective measures, and 63% both objective and subjective measures, for the definition of "cure." Not surprisingly, therefore, the cure rates of the same surgical procedure for SUI differed among these studies. A universal definition of cure is thus obviously needed for accurate interpretation of cure rates when surgical treatment of SUI is contemplated.Surgeons tend to define the cure of SUI as the successful anatomical repair of defective tissue support of the urethra measured by objective improvement in urinary incontinence. As a direct result, earlier studies of surgical treatment of SUI focused on objective outcomes for measurement and definition of "surgical" cure. However, these measures tend to underestimate the impact of lower urinary tract symptoms on social limitations and emotional well-being of the woman [3]. Patients may have completely different expectations of cure after surgery for SUI other than the anatomical cure, such as absence of odor, lack of disruption of routine activities, use of less pads, and/or improvement of emotional status. For patients, the improvement of these symptoms might be more important than the "objective" demonstration of leakage of urine. In fact, a number of patients who are considered as objectively cured from SUI might even feel worse following the operation due to surgery-induced negative outcomes such as de novo urge urinary incontinence or intermittent selfcatheterization because of voi...