Bladder neck support prosthesis: a nonoperative treatment for stress or mixed urinary incontinence

We evaluated the usefulness and safety of a bladder neck support prosthesis in patients with stress or mixed incontinence.

A total of 57 women with stress and 20 with mixed incontinence completed a 12-week prospective clinical trial of a bladder neck support prosthesis. While indexes of incontinence episodes, leakage amounts and urgency along with a bothersome index were subjectively evaluated, a 60-minute pad test and urinary flow parameters were objectively evaluated. Three patients scheduled to undergo surgery for stress incontinence voluntarily used the device, and provided urodynamic data and cystourethrograms. Two prongs at 1 end of the ring, a type of elastic vaginal pessary, elevate the bladder neck against the pubic bone and facilitate pressure transmission around the bladder neck, resulting in urinary continence.

Four subjective indexes significantly improved. There was no urinary flow obstruction. Urine loss decreased from 20.6 to 4.8 gm. per hour (p < 0.001) on the 60-minute pad test. Of the patients 22 (29%) reported complete continence and 39 (51%) had decreased severity of incontinence by more than 50%. Minor adverse effects occurred in 26% of the patients. Taking subjective evaluation, changes in objective parameters and adverse effects into consideration, 62 patients (81%) had some or maximum benefit according to the global usefulness rating.

The bladder neck support prosthesis is safe, well tolerated and clinically effective for the treatment of stress or mixed incontinence.