[An artificial urinary bladder sphincter for men]

Urinary incontinence is a condition with involuntary escape of urine and causes not only medical but also social and hygienic problems. One of the causes of incontinence is insufficiency of the urethral closure mechanism which in men is usually caused by previous prostatectomy or neurogenic dysfunction of the lower urinary pathways. The method of choice is the application of an artificial sphincter (model AMS 800) to the bulbar urethra or cervix. The authors applied an artificial sphincter in 1993-1996 to one boy and 14 men aged 11-72 years. The basic components of the artificial sphincter of the urethra-AMS 800 is a cuff, balloon and pump. The whole system is filled with isotonic solution Omnipaque 300, the cuff which is 45-80 mm long is placed either round the bulbar urethra from a perineal approach or round the cervix by a retropubic approach. The pump is placed beneath the skin of the scrotum and the balloon is in a perivesical position. All parts of the AMS are connected by tubes. Because of infectious complications the authors had to explant the sphincter in two patients. In one patient it was necessary to add another cuff. The perineal approach is simpler, but is associated with a higher risk of erosion of the urethra. Patients with a neurogenic bladder had more complications than those after prostatectomy. Despite the fact that the method and aid is expensive, the treatment is very effective and makes the patients independent on other aids for incontinent patients.