About Incontinence - Treatment / Management Options - Surgery for Stress Urinary Incontinence (SUI)
Medical Reviewer:Nejd Alskiafi, M.D.
Surgeries for stress incontinence involve creating a small hammock under the bladder neck or mid urethra to help support it. Depending on the specific type of surgery, the hammock can be constructed of tissue taken from another area of your own body, or a synthetic material. When your sphincter muscle clamps down on the urethra, it presses against this new "hammock" which provides resistance and clamps the urethra closed, helping to keep urine in.
Who?
These surgeries have typically been done on women with stress urinary incontinence, but new evidence is also showing good success rates in men with stress incontinence, particularly after treatment for a prostate problem.
The Pros
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The procedure is quite safe for most men and women, and has been successfully performed on adult women of all ages, including women in their 90s.
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Eighty to ninety percent of people who have a surgery for stress incontinence experience improved continence.
The Cons
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The recovery includes a number of weeks of no heavy lifting, intercourse, or strenuous exercise.
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You may still need to wear an absorbent product, even if the incontinence is lessened.
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As with any surgical procedure, this treatment carries risks.
Note: On January 4, 2012, the US FDA issued an order requiring makers of implantable surgical mesh used to surgically treat urinary incontinence in women to study its risks. You can read more about this order here.
Nejd F. Alsikafi, M.D, is a 1997 graduate of the Pritzker School of Medicine at the University of Chicago. Following medical school he was a resident in urology at the University of Chicago and completed his chief resident year in 2003. Afterwards he was accepted for a prestigious fellowship in urologic trauma and reconstruction at the University of California San Francisco. There he served as Clinical Instructor and was the author of many publications. Afterwards he joined the faculty at the University of Chicago as Clinical Associate and was an attending urologist at Mount Sinai Hospital in Chicago. In 2006 he was recruited to move his urologic trauma and reconstructive practice to the Loyola University Health System, where he currently serves as Clinical Assistant Professor. He is head of the Chicago Center for Urologic Reconstruction and Trauma. In late 2006 he joined the practice of Urology Specialists of Lake County.
Dr. Alsikafi is board certified in adult and pediatric urology by the American Board of Urology and is an active member of the American Urological Association. He is also a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and is a member of many honorary and academic medical societies. He presently resides in Lake County, IL with his wife and five children.
Page last modified 12 January 2012