Electronic bladder stimulation in spinal cord paralysis

Authors performed electronic stimulation of the paralysed bladder that was attributed to various innervation troubles. For this purpose, they implanted 10 patients with stimulator Model PMS-3, each with 8 electrodes. In three cases, outside factors (like endocarditis, pyelonephritis aposthematosa, and progress of paralysis in the limbs) forced them to remove the stimulator. The other cases can be declared as successful, for complete bladder emptying has been obtained. The authors want to emphasize that patients with an implanted stimulator can dispense with an indwelling catheter thereby avoiding vesicoureteral reflux. The absence of recurrent pyelonephritis results in prolonged health. This new technique seems to be appropriate, especially in peripheric paralysis, while central paralysis connected with fibrosis of the bladder neck often requires additional surgical intervention, e.g. transurethral resection.