Urethra Bulking Injections for Urinary Incontinence
Injections of materials, such as Calcium Hydroxylapatite (Coaptite), a naturally occurring material that is found in bones and teeth, provide bulk to help support the urethra may help the following patients:
- Women with severe stress incontinence who cannot or do not wish to have surgery that involves anesthesia.
- Women with stress incontinence and urethral hypomobility (or an absence of bladder neck mobility)
What Happens During the Procedure?
- The basic procedure involves injecting bulking material into the tissue surrounding the urethra.
- The doctor passes a needle through a cystoscope, a tube that has been inserted into the urethra. The bulking material is then injected underneath the urethral tissue next to the urethral sphincter (around the bladder neck).
- The injected material tightens the seal of the sphincter by adding bulk to the surrounding tissue.
- The procedure takes about 5 minutes, and can be done in the clinic without the need for anesthesia and without the need for a trip to the operating room. Most patients go home immediately following the injection.
- Results can least anywhere from several months to several years and additional injections may be needed to achieve lasting results.
- There is a small risk of urinary retention, although these conditions are temporary.