Surgeries For Female Urinary Incontinence
Stress Urinary Incontinence (SUI) is when urine leaks out with sudden pressure on the bladder and urethra, causing the sphincter muscles to open briefly.
With mild SUI, pressure may be from sudden forceful activities, like exercise, sneezing, laughing or coughing. If your SUI is more severe, you may also leak with less forceful activities like standing up, walking or bending over. Urinary “accidents” like this can range from a few drops of urine to enough to soak through your clothes.
Treatment will depend on the type, severity and cause of urinary incontinence. Acute urinary incontinence caused by infections, kidney stones or medication side effects often goes away when the original problem is treated. Other treatments include:
Continence devices to help reposition and stabilize the bladder and urethra
- Bulking substances like collagen or artificial substances to provide support to the urethra to reduce stress incontinence
- Pessary (semi-rigid ring) placed in the vagina to reposition the urethra and reduce stress incontinence leakage
Surgical treatment:
- Catheterisation (insertion of a thin tube into the bladder) for women whose bladder fails to empty completely because of loss of muscle tone, prior surgery or spinal injury. The catheter is inserted into the urethra and allowed to drain into a bag attached to the leg
- Placement of a pubo-vaginal sling (‘hammock’) beneath the bladder to provide support
- Placement of an artificial sphincter (a ring that encircles the urethra) that can be manually inflated to close around the urethra and prevent urine leakage
- Sutures to stabilise the bladder by attaching it to nearby muscle, tissue or bone
A combination of these therapies may be needed, and treatment is tailored to meet your individual needs.