Save the Earth, Stop Urinary Incontinence

By Kambiz Tajkarimi, MD

Urology Surgical Consulting

. https://www.novaurology.com/

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Save the Earth, Stop Urinary Incontinence

In the next three minutes it will take you to read this short article, another 200,000 throwaway pads and adult Depends will enter US landfills and even oceans where they will sit for at least 500 years before decomposing. Together we must stop millions of harmful and chemical-laden disposables being dumped into overflowing landfills and troubled oceans.

Urinary incontinence the loss of bladder control is a common and often embarrassing problem. The severity ranges from occasionally leakingurinewhen you cough or sneeze to having an urge tourinatethat’s so sudden and strong you don’t get to a toilet in time.

Treatment of female stress urinary incontinence (loss of urine during activities, walking, running, coughing, sneezing, etc.) can range from conservative treatments to surgical correction, which often depends on the severity of leakage and other problems, such as pelvic prolapse.

Stress urinary incontinence is often due to urethral hypermobility in which urine leaks out during sudden increased abdominal pressure as the urethra does not have the proper support to neutralize sudden changes in pressure. If conservative treatments such as weight loss, Kegel exercises, and/or pelvic floor physical therapy fail, then patients have a range of surgical options.

Some surgical options are too invasive and have less than satisfactory outcomes. Frankly, many belong in pages of old urogynecology books and have only historical significance. For the past two decades, mid-urethral sling has become the gold standard.

Approaches include transobturator and transvaginal techniques. They have 94-96% success rate in the right patient to cure stress incontinence. The procedure is outpatient and you can return to normal activities in 2-3 weeks with minimal restrictions.

Warning This type of procedure must be performed by an experienced surgeon for the best outcome and prevention of complications, which can range from urinary retention, persistent incontinence, bladder injury, and/or mesh erosion. The good news is that these complications are quite rare in the hands of experienced female pelvic floor specialists.