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Questions posted in the
The Urology Forum have been answered by urologists from Henry Ford Health System and by Dr. Kevin Pho.
Question Title: New device, can it help the Incontinent????Forum: The Urology Forum
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Recently heard about a device that can help those who are incontinent, I believe it is referred to as a MODULATOR, and it is placed under the skin in the sacral area sending impulses to the brain via a remote to allow a patient who is incontinent to control bladder mishaps, what I would like to know is, can this also work for someone with neurogenic bladder, to allow an impulse to transmit to empty the bladder, is this procedure of implanting this modulator available now and if it can help with neurogenic bladder is it very reliable. Bob
Dear Bob, The term neurogenic bladder is a nonspecific term to describe a dysfunctional bladder secondary to an imbalance of neural (nerve) input. I can only assume from your question that you have been told you have a neurogenic bladder and have symptoms of incontinence. You may even have frequency and urgency. These symptoms are a result of an unstable bladder but can occur after a stroke, spinal cord injury, parkinson’s disease just to name a few. I could probably answer your question more directly if I knew what the underlying cause of the neurogenic bladder. Specifically talking about neuromodulation and urge incontinence, different forms of dysfunction of the lower urinary tract can be treated with electrical stimulation. Currently, two operative modalities are available. In patients with spinal cord injury the combination of posterior sacral root rhizotomies (nerve cuttings) with implantation of electrodes on the anterior spinal nerve roots produces excellent results in terms of restoration of continence and bladder evacuation. In patients with chronic problems of urge incontinence, urgency/frequency and voiding dysfunction, neuromodulation of a sacral nerve with an implantable system can reduce the symptomatology significantly. Of the eight articles I found doing a literature search, 7 of them were from international sources. The one article from the USA came out of Colorado. I do not have any personal experience with these techniques and cannot comment on there success rates. Several of the articles publish their results which appear to have a substantial impact. One article with 18 patients showed improvement from 6 incontinent episodes in a 24 hr period to 1 episode. Remember, this is still in the experimental phase. I think there will be more informatiion in the near future. This information is provided for general medical educational purposes only. Please consult your physician for diagnostic and treatment options pertaining to your specific medical condition. More individualized care is available at the Henry Ford Hospital and its satellites (1 800 653-6568). Sincerely,
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