Neurological Strategies - Treating Urinary Incontinence: Bladder Conditions

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Neurological strategies

A device called the Urgent PC Neuromodulation System (formerly known as the Stoller Afferent Nerve Stimulator, or SANS) takes advantage of the fact that the ankle and bladder send and receive signals from the same sacral nerve.

For an Urgent PC treatment, which lasts about half an hour, a hair-thin wire is inserted near the tibial nerve just above your ankle. The wire is connected to an external device that delivers low-frequency electrical pulses. The stimulation travels to the sacral nerve where it is designed to reset nerve signals to the bladder and thus diminish urge incontinence. The treatment is used once a week for several weeks and then as needed to control symptoms.

In one U.S. multicenter study, 12 weeks of treatment improved the symptoms of 70% of patients who had not responded to other treatments for urge incontinence. The number of urinations dropped about 25%, and the episodes of urge incontinence fell by 35%. The device was cleared by the FDA in 2000 for the treatment of urge incontinence and is widely available here, through a company called Uroplasty. In Europe, this treatment is approved for treatment of fecal incontinence as well. A woman who has both urinary and fecal incontinence may be able to qualify for coverage because the therapy can be billed under urinary incontinence. You should not use this treatment if you are pregnant, have nerve damage, or have a pacemaker or implantable defibrillator.

Last updated:	September 05, 2008