Feb 4, 2003 3 min read

BROWNSVILLE – Urologist S. Patel, M.D., and Brownsville General Hospital have teamed up to offer state of the art treatment for incontinence sufferers. Many people, both men and women, suffer urinary incontinence, which is defined as an involuntary loss or leakage of urine due to stress, urge or overflow problems in the bladder.

Many of those who suffer from incontinence may try medications, surgery or just learn to accept their problem. A new treatment, which is used after medications or other surgeries have failed to correct the problem, is Interstim bladder stimulation.

Interstim Therapy helps individuals who suffer from incontinence, urinary retention and significant symptoms of urgency-frequency (frequent strong and sudden urges to urinate) and have not been helped or could not tolerate more conservative treatments.

“Interstim Therapy uses electrical stimulation of specific nerves to treat urinary incontinence,” Patel said. “The sacral nerves, which control the bladder, sphincter and pelvic floor muscles, are stimulated via a thin wire that is implanted adjacent to the sacral nerve. Many patients’ symptoms have been completely resolved while using the therapy. Based on findings in clinical studies, nearly half the urge incontinent patients using the therapy were completely dry at six months, and other symptoms also showed significant improvement.”

The therapy is based on research that indicates that electrical stimulation of the sacral nerves sends a message to the brain that can, in turn, influence bladder, sphincter and pelvic floor control.

The types of bladder problems that Interstim Therapy can treat include incontinence and significant symptoms of urgency-frequency (which may be as often as 40 times per day), followed by embarrassing wetting episodes.

Urinary retention, the inability to completely empty the bladder, is yet another condition treated with the Interstim therapy.

Interstim therapy is not intended for patients with conditions such as enlarged prostate or cancer.

Treatment with the Interstim Therapy includes three steps including test stimulation, surgical implant and post-implant follow-up.

The test stimulation, an outpatient procedure, allows the physician and patient to assess the effectiveness of controlling symptoms through a diagnostic trial conducted in several days. During the trial, the patient wears an external neurostimulator that sends mild electrical pulses via a wire to the sacral nerves.

Setting up the test stimulation involves a simple outpatient procedure. If the symptoms improve during the test stimulation period, the physician and patient can determine whether to pursue Interstim Therapy as a long-term treatment.

Following a successful test stimulation, the neurostimulator can be implanted under the skin in the lower abdomen. This procedure is usually performed under general anesthesia and requires the patient to be hospitalized for one day.

During the post-implant phase the neurostimulator is activated, which sends mild electrical impulses to the sacral nerve. Adjustments may be needed to optimize the therapy, but can be done in the physician’s office.

The goal of this new procedure is to provide patients with incontinence an improved quality of life and a return to a normal lifestyle. Success rates and results may vary for individual patients.

For more information, contact the Physician Referral Line at 724-785-1999 based at Brownsville General Hospital.