Urinary Incontinence Sling Treatment Options and Care
Single-Incision Sling System
Urinary incontinence is defined as the involuntary leakage of urine. The problem afflicts approximately 18 million adults in the United States, 85% of them being women. You are not alone!
Urinary incontinence occurs due to the weakening of muscles and tissues that help in controlling the urethra or otherwise known as the pelvic floor muscles. And the patient loses bladder control, and the urine leaks even during minor activities like laughing or exercising- known as stress incontinence. But you can treat stress incontinence and your bladder control problem.
Types of Incontinence
Urinary Incontinence / Stress Incontinence
This mostly occurs in women and older people
Urge Incontinence
It is the opposite of a urine leakage problem. If you have an urge incontinence problem, you get an uncontrollable urge to urinate several times a day. Urinary tract infections, usually cause this, and around 40% of the female population to suffer from it and 30% of the male population.
Stress Incontinence
It causes a leak of urine from the bladder due to laughing, coughing, and other activities.
Overflow Incontinence
Overflow incontinence occurs when urine leakage occurs because your bladder is too full or there is trouble emptying it.
Mixed Incontinence
Mixed incontinence is a mix of both stress incontinence and urge incontinence and is more common than people realize.
Luckily, incontinence treatment is available, and there are many ways to fix it. Before people move on to surgeries, they usually try conservative treatments. Here are some of the treatments:
Incontinence Treatments
Kegel Exercises
Kegel exercises are a form of bladder training and pelvic floor muscle exercises that you can use to deal with your incontinence, all dealing with muscle contractions. They can also be used as a pelvic floor muscle training tool. It is an easy and non-invasive way to treat it, but you might need surgery if these pelvic muscle exercises do not work.
Single-Incision Sling Surgery
Sling procedures offer minimal side effects and relief from your problem. This type of surgery has a higher success rate. The mini sling is inserted over one single incision and fixed on both sides of the pelvic wall tissue.
Artificial Urinary Sphincter
You may need AUS if you cannot control your urine leakage. AUS is a device that lets you do it artificially and comes in three parts: a urethral cuff, a pump, and a balloon.
Electrical Impulses
Pelvic floor muscles can also be treated with electrical impulses for bladder control issues. These impulses are sent directly to your sacral nerves involved in urination. These impulses are mild so you do not have to worry about them hurting too much, and your pelvic floor muscles might gain back their normal function again.
You should talk to your primary care doctor or health care professional to see which option suits you the best. There are many other treatments available to regain control of your leaking urine, or urine flow.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
-
Stress urinary incontinence is the involuntary loss of urine during physical activity, which may include but is not limited to coughing, laughing, or lifting. Incontinence occurs when the muscles that support the urethra (the tube that carries urine out of the body) are weakened or damaged. This can happen as a result of childbirth, trauma, hormone changes and many other reasons. You don’t have to live like this. This type of incontinence can be treated both surgically or non-surgically.
-
A mid-urethral sling system is designed to provide a ribbon of support under the urethra to prevent it from dropping during physical activity, which may include but is not limited to: laughing or lifting. Providing support that mimics the normal anatomy should prevent urine from leaking or reduce the amount of leakage.
-
Your minimally-invasive sling procedure is estimated to only take 30-45 minutes. A small incision will be made in the vaginal area. Next, the synthetic mesh is placed to create a “sling” of support around the urethra. When your doctor is satisfied with the position of the mesh, he or she will close and bandage the small incisions in the groin area (if applicable for your sling type) and the top of the vaginal canal.
-
Most patients resume moderate activities within 2 to 4 weeks, but avoiding lifting heavy objects is something you might have to follow (if your doctor asks you). You might also be asked to make some lifestyle changes, depending on your problem’s severity and medical history.
Request an Appointment
Fill out the form below to request an appointment with Dr. Stefanie McCain