You’re not alone if you’re frustrated by bladder control problems. Millions of people experience bladder issues at some time. That’s why we used our expertise in sacral nerve stimulation to develop an innovative overactive bladder treatment for patients who have failed or could not tolerate more conservative treatments.

Normally, as your bladder stores urine, your pelvic floor muscles contract to support your bladder and hold urine in without leaking. Bladder control problems occur when your pelvic muscles weaken. Bladder control problems are not a natural part of aging. Pregnancy and childbirth, obesity, weak pelvic muscles, diabetes, prostate cancer, bladder cancer or stones, and neurological disorders can also be contributing factors. In addition, certain medications, high calcium levels, constipation, or inactivity can put you at risk.

Advanced Urology Institute may recommend sacral nerve stimulation for those patients who have failed or could not tolerate more conservative treatments. Medtronic’s innovative InterStim® neurostimulator has been used to treat more than 50,000 people worldwide since 1994. If your life has been disrupted by bladder problems and other treatments have not worked for you, InterStim may be another option.

This reversible treatment uses the small surgically implanted InterStim® neurostimulator to send mild electrical pulses to the sacral nerve to reduce symptoms. The sacral nerve controls your bladder and the muscles related to urinary function.

Before implantation, a trial assessment involves placement of a thin wire worn in your back. The wire is connected to a small stimulator, which you’ll wear on a belt. The stimulator will send mild electrical pulses through the thin wire to one of your sacral nerves, and those pulses may get your bladder working the way it’s supposed to. During the trial assessment, which typically lasts 3 to 7 days, you can continue many of your daily activities with caution.