About Incontinence - Treatment / Management Options - Bulking Agents
Medical Reviewer: Karen Sasso, MSN, RN, APN, CCCN
In this outpatient procedure a bulking agent (such as collagen, silicon and Teflon) is injected into the neck of the bladder to bulk it up and help compress the urethra (the tube that leads urine out of the body).
Who?
This procedure can be used on men or women with a non-severe type of stress urinary incontinence, often as the result of prostate surgery or childbirth (respectively).
The Pros
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This treatment is less invasive than surgery.
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Many people have great success with this treatment.
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Injections of biocompatible material are a short-term solution, so they may be ideal for treatment of this type of incontinence from the damage to the urethra after childbirth or prostate surgery.
The Cons
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The injections must be repeated anywhere from every couple of months to once a year.
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Most people get significant reduction in their urine leakage associated with activity but may need to wear some protection.
Karen Sasso, RN, APN , is the Program Manager and Urogynecology Clinical Nurse Specialist at the Evanston Continence Center at NorthShore University HealthSystem in Evanston , Illinois .
Ms. Sasso received her nursing diploma from the Medical College of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing at Alverno College , Milwaukee , Wisconsin , and a Master of Science in nursing at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee .
Her clinical practice involves the evaluation and treatment of women with urinary incontinence, voiding dysfunction, and pelvic floor disorders. She has extensive experience in clinical research for the treatment of women with stress urinary incontinence, detrusor overactivity and genital prolapse.
A regular contributor to the medical press, Ms. Sasso has authored and coauthored a number of articles on female urinary incontinence, genital prolapse and treatment options. Her work has appeared in such journals as Obstetrics and Gynecology, Urologic Nursing, RN, and Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nursing. She has also coauthored a book chapter published in Textbook of Female Urology and Urogynecology. She has presented at numerous symposia within the United States and abroad including the 29th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Urogynecologic Society in Chicago, Illinois, the Society of Urologic Nurses and Associates Annual Symposium: Disorders of the Bowel, Bladder and Pelvic Floor in New York, NY and the 21st and 25th International Uro-gynecological Association Conferences in Rome, Italy and Vienna, Austria. She is also a reviewer for the journal Urologic Nursing, a committee member for the Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nursing Certification Board and a Project Advisory Council member for the National Association for Continence.
She is certified by the Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nursing Certification Board as a Certified Continence Care Nurse (CCCN) and licensed in the State of Illinois as an Advanced Practice Nurse. Ms. Sasso is a member of the Society of Urologic Nurses and Associates; the American Urogynecologic Society; the Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nurses Society; and the International Urogynecological Association. She was presented with the 2004 Continence Care Champion Award by the National Association for Continence and the Urologic Nursing Journal’s 2006-2007 Literary Excellence Award.
Page last modified 29 May 2011