Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Search research articles

Related Experiment Videos

Sacral nerve stimulation for refractory overactive bladder in the elderly population.

Wesley M White¹, Joe D Mobley, Regula Doggweiler

¹Division of Urologic Surgery, University of Tennessee Medical Center, Knoxville, Tennessee 37920, USA. wwhite@mc.utmck.edu

The Journal of Urology

|August 18, 2009

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

The Micturition Reflex

The Micturition Reflex

Urination, or micturition involves the coordination of the bladder's detrusor muscle and two sphincters to ensure controlled bladder emptying.
The process begins with bladder filling, where the bladder wall stretches as urine accumulates. This stretching activates the urine storage reflex, mediated by the sacral spinal segments and the pontine storage center. Efferent sympathetic impulses stimulate the detrusor muscle to relax and the internal urethral sphincter to contract, facilitating urine...

Urinary Bladder

Urinary Bladder

The urinary bladder is a hollow, muscular sac that temporarily stores urine before it is expelled from the body. It can hold approximately 600 mL of urine prior to micturition. The bladder is retroperitoneal and located behind the pubic symphysis in the pelvic floor.
In males, the bladder is situated in front of the rectum, while in females, it is positioned anterior to the vagina and uterus. The bladder floor contains an inverted triangular area called the trigone, defined by the two ureteric...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Telehealth Use and Barriers in Non-Metropolitan Clinic Populations.

Urology·2025

Same author

Private Equity in Healthcare.

Urology·2025

Same author

The impact of single-port robotic surgery: a survey among urology residents and fellows in the United States.

Journal of robotic surgery·2024

Same author

Editorial Comment.

Urology·2023

Same author

On-Clamp vs. Off-Clamp Robot-Assisted Partial Nephrectomy for cT2 Renal Tumors: Retrospective Propensity-Score-Matched Multicenter Outcome Analysis.

Cancers·2022

Same author

EDITORIAL COMMENT.

Urology·2022

Sacral nerve stimulation is a safe and effective treatment for elderly women with overactive bladder, showing high success rates and few complications. While device removal is more common in older patients, the overall outcomes are promising for this demographic.

Area of Science:

Urology
Geriatric Medicine
Neuromodulation

Background:

Refractory overactive bladder significantly impacts quality of life in the elderly.
Sacral nerve stimulation (SNS) is an established treatment, but long-term outcomes in geriatric populations require further characterization.

Purpose of the Study:

To determine the long-term efficacy and safety of sacral nerve stimulation for refractory overactive bladder in female patients aged 70 years and older.

Main Methods:

Prospective longitudinal study of 19 elderly female patients (≥70 years) with refractory overactive bladder undergoing SNS.
Follow-up included assessment of stage conversion, device durability, efficacy (≥50% symptom improvement), and complications.
Retrospective comparison with a younger cohort (<70 years).

Related Experiment Videos

Main Results:

90% of elderly patients achieved >50% symptom improvement and proceeded to implantable pulse generator placement.
At a mean follow-up of 48.5 months, 65% had a functional device with sustained improvement.
Elderly patients had similar conversion rates and adverse events but a higher likelihood of device removal compared to younger patients (p=0.018).

Conclusions:

Sacral nerve stimulation demonstrates a high conversion rate, good device efficacy, and durability in elderly patients with refractory overactive bladder.
The procedure appears safe and efficacious in this population, with few adverse events.
Sacral nerve stimulation should be judiciously considered for geriatric patients experiencing refractory voiding symptoms.