Comprehensive Pelvic Medicine and Continence Center

At the Comprehensive Pelvic Medicine and Continence Center, your comfort is first and foremost.  We understand your unique and personal healthcare needs as a woman.  Our caring specialists will work side by side with you in developing a treatment plan that is uniquely yours, based on your individual lifestyle and needs.

What is Incontinence?

If you experience urinary incontinence, urine may leak suddenly when you cough, sneeze or laugh.  Or, you may experience sudden, overwhelming urges to urinate.  Still, other incontinence symptoms are characterized by a trickle of urine throughout the day.  You may even find yourself avoiding social situations for fear of leakage.  In any case, incontinence and other pelvic floor problems can drastically affect your quality of life. If you have difficulty controlling the expulsion of gas from the rectum or have involuntary stool leakage, you may be experiencing fecal incontinence.

Silent Suffering

One out of every four women suffers from the frustrating and embarrassing condition of incontinence. Unfortunately, only half of these women seek any type of help or treatment.  Many women incorrectly assume that urine leakage is normal.  While the problem of urine leakage is very common, it should never be considered normal.  The most commonly quoted study estimates that 11 million American women currently suffer from leakage of urine.  However, this estimate may be low.  The National Institute on Aging found that fifty-six percent of women experienced urinary incontinence at least weekly.  At the Pelvic Medicine and Continence Center, we offer help and support for this common and often curable problem.

Types of Incontinence

The two most common types of urinary incontinence are stress incontinence and urge incontinence.

Stress incontinence is urine leakage that happens during activity that causes pressure (or "stress") on the bladder such as laughing, lifting, coughing or sneezing.

Urge incontinence is urine leakage that occurs before a woman has a chance to get to the bathroom in response to an urge to urinate.  Women with this type of leakage may also experience frequent urges to urinate and frequent nighttime waking to urinate.

Proper Diagnosis

Correct diagnosis of the type and cause of urinary incontinence is the key to developing an effective treatment plan.  Our staff includes a urogynecology physician, colorectal physician, a urodynamic nurse specialist/gastroenterology nurse and a physical therapist with advanced training and experience.  The Center offers state-of-the-art technology to aid the physician in accurately diagnosing the cause and source of incontinence, and to choose the most effective treatment based on your specific needs.

Treatment Options that Work

We offer a full spectrum of proven treatment options to help you gain control.  After a private consultation with a caring specialist from the center, your treatment plan may include:

• Multichannel Urodynamics – an outpatient procedure that uses a small catheter inserted into the bladder to electronically measure the function of the bladder, urethra and pelvic floor muscles during filling, leakage and urination.
• Bladder Diary
• Behavioral Strategies – to help you learn voiding patterns that may improve control of your bladder.
• Diet Modification – to identify fluid and food intake issues that may alter your bladder function.
• Pelvic Floor Exercises – to strengthen muscles that hold pelvic organs in place and help reduce stress and urge incontinence.
• Biofeedback Training – including massage, exercise, water therapy and ultrasound to identify and help correct musculoskeletal problems that contribute to pelvic pain or incontinence.
• Medications – There are numerous medications available to help reduce bowel and bladder incontinence.  Certain drugs that decrease bladder spasms, tighten the urinary sphincter or alleviate irritation are available for use.  Medications that aid in adjusting stool consistency and motility are often useful to those with fecal incontinence.
• Surgical Procedures – including collagen injections, tension free vaginal tape (TVT), prolapse repair and nerve stimulation implant are options for bladder control.
• For fecal incontinence, procedures such as Sphincteroplasty, Labatoplasty or other surgical interventions are available based on individual need.
• Anorectal Manometry – an outpatient procedure that provides the physician with information on the pressures generated in the rectum and anal canal.
• Pudendal Nerve Testing – an outpatient procedure that measures motor response time of the pudendal nerve.  Useful in diagnosing bowel and bladder conditions involving the nervous system.
• Defecography – This outpatient fluoroscopic procedure performed with rectal contrast is to study the anatomy and function of the anorectum and pelvic floor during defecation.

To learn more about incontinence and other pelvic floor disorders, as well as the treatment options that are available to you, contact your primary healthcare provider or call the Comprehensive Pelvic Medicine and Continence Center directly at 630-978-4837.