Bladder Incontinence

Posted by Ann Ibrahim on July 10, 1999 at 11:41:02
Dear Doctor
Forgive me if this message appears twice but I tried earlier to post it  and it did not appear on the forum.  My 66 year old mother has suffered total bladder incontinence for some years and it really gets her down.  Medications do not seem to do anything to control the problem. She was offered a procedure which involved taking a piece of her intestine and somehow grafting it on to her bladder but as it involved her being knocked out for some hours her cardiologist did not agree to this as she has unstable angina.  Last week however she was told that another procedure may be possible and it would involve only a "few snips" and half an hour under general anaesthesia.  Do you know what this procedure would involve? My mum is anxious to know but it would depend upon her  cardiologist agreeing whatever the procedure might involve.
Thanks in advance for your reply.

Posted by HFHS M.D.-BE on July 16, 1999 at 14:04:14

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Dear Ann,
There are different ways of dealing with urinary incontinence.  From what you have described your urologist wants to perform an ileovesicostomy.  A small piece of bowel is attached to the bladder and brought out to the skin where the urine is collected into a bag. This is a major surgical procedure, and with your mother