Nerve stimulation eases urge incontinence

A nerve stimulation technique appears to be effective and safe treatment for urinary urge incontinence unresponsive to drugs and other conservative therapies. Urge incontinence, a common problem in older adults, involves a sudden impulse to empty the bladder followed by the involuntary passage of urine. With a technique known as sacral neuromodulation, a battery-powered pulse generator provides nerve stimulation via implanted electrodes. Exactly how this therapy works is unclear, but several reports have shown a therapeutic benefit for urge incontinence. Researchers from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor assessed the outcomes of 41 patients who were treated with sacral neuromodulation using a product called InterStim. During follow-up, 90 percent of the patients experienced 50 percent or greater improvements in symptoms and quality of life. Sacral neuromodulation was also associated with marked reductions in the average number of leaking episodes and in the number of pads used per day. No complications were noted during implantation of the device, but 29 percent of patients experienced complications after surgery, most commonly a superficial wound infection that resolved with antibiotics. Sacral neuromodulation using InterStim therapy is safe, minimally invasive, and reversible. It does not carry the risk of systemic side effects such as with (drug) therapy or the potential (complications) that open surgical procedures may carry.