The Tribune

By DR GREGGORY PINTO

Tens of thousands of Bahamian women and men have their bladder dictate their lives and reduce the quality of their everyday lives.

The negative impact of urinary incontinence/leak and urinary urgency can be profound.

Stress urinary incontinence is the uncontrollable leak or passage of urine with any increased abdominal pressure associated with common activities such as laughing, sneezing, coughing, lifting or exercising. Stress urinary incontinence is not related to psychological stress, but a pressure/stress on the bladder that occurs when there is a weakening of the muscles and tissues that support the bladder and a weakening of the urethral sphincter. Stress urinary incontinence affects as many as one in three women of varying ages. Risk factors for stress urinary incontinence includes previous pregnancy, vaginal delivery, obesity, smoking, menopause and advancing age.

One in 10 men experience stress urinary incontinence and many of these affected men have had previous prostate cancer surgery.

Urge urinary incontinence is the uncontrollable leak of urine after the failure to make it the bathroom after the urge is felt.

Many women experience both stress and urge urinary incontinence.

The majority of men who suffer from urge urinary incontinence or suffer from overflow urinary incontinence have an obstructive prostate or less commonly, an urethral stricture as the root cause.

Painless, minimally invasive endoscopic resection of the obstructing prostate can permanently solve the issue of an obstructive prostate. No pain medication is required after endoscopic prostate resection and no to minimal recovery period is needed.

Women worldwide and in the Bahamas commonly suffer from stress urinary incontinence and often live their lives wearing panty liners or pads, or in some cases even adult diapers.

Stress urinary incontinence negatively affects the quality of life of women and men in multiple ways. Sexual intimacy can lead to uncontrollable urine leak, which leaves far too many women fearful to be intimate.

Women suffering from urinary incontinence sadly often live their lives wearing dark clothing every single day to try and hide potential wetness and stains associated with urinary incontinence/leak.

Women are afraid to exercise because of the embarrassing stress urinary leak. There are many negative health effects for these women who stop exercising.

Imagine being fearful to simply laugh and enjoy life because of stress urinary incontinence/leak.

This the horrible reality for tens of thousands of Bahamian women.

The constant fear of the perceived smell of urine limits social interactions and often negatively affects the professional lives of women as well.

Many Bahamian women are afraid to have a glass of water when they leave their homes because of the overwhelming urge to urinate frequently.

In the Bahamas, several minimally invasive outpatient procedures are readily available to successfully treat both stress and urge urinary incontinence. Patients can take an extended lunch break and often return to work after any of the minimally invasive procedures, and have no further episodes of urinary incontinence/leak.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved synthetic transvaginal urethral slings are available through Urology Care Bahamas to minimally invasive treat stress urinary incontinence in a less than 30-minute outpatient procedure.

FDA-approved minimally invasive Botox injections effectively treat urge urinary incontinence and are likewise available locally in the Bahamas as a 20-minute outpatient painless procedure.

Another option is the FDA approved minimally invasive placement of synthetic bulking agents such as macroplastique at the level of the opening of the bladder and urethra, can successfully treat stress urinary incontinence.

For men with severe stress urinary incontinence, artificial urethral sphincter surgery is available locally.

The FDA has now approved the non-invasive highly effective management of stress, urge and mixed urinary incontinence using the device INNOVO. No procedure is necessary.

INNOVO, the state-of-the-art non-invasive pelvic floor exerciser provides pelvic floor muscle effective strengthening that treats the root cause of bladder leak due to urinary incontinence for both women and men. The INNOVO advanced device was FDA approved late last year and is now available in the Bahamas for the first time through Urology Care Bahamas.

INNOVO is a painless, non-invasive device that is simple to use; just put on the convenient device that is similar to a comfortable pair of bicycle shorts that it delivers painless electrical stimulation to the entire pelvic floor muscles in a short 30-minute session. All varying sizes of the INNOVO device fitted shorts are available.

A hand-held controller is connected to the state of the art INNOVO shorts and the intensity of the painless electrical stimulation of the pelvic muscles can be controlled by the user.

The electrical stimulation is painless and the device can be used within the confines of the user’s home whenever it is convenient.

Sit comfortably and watch TV or read a book and the non-invasive painless device simply delivers electrical stimulation to your weakened pelvic muscles.

The device is used five times a week for 30-minute sessions per day for treating stress urinary incontinence and it is worn three to four times a week to treat urge urinary incontinence. After 12 weeks the vast majority of women will be dry and no longer need panty liners or pads or adult diapers.

The scientifically proven success of the INNOVO device is extraordinary.

Eighty-seven percent of users have no or mild urinary leak/incontinence after a 12-week treatment period, involving three to five 30-minute sessions each week. Ninety-three percent of INNOVO users saw a significant reduction in urinary leak after just four weeks of use.

INNOVO has provided over 1.5 million successful treatments of stress urinary incontinence in Europe thus far.

A weak bladder is a fixable problem that with the convenient at home use of the non-invasive, painless INNOVO device, thousands of Bahamian women and men can regain their happiness, confidence and freedom in their lives.

Laugh hard again and with no leak of urine. Exercise full throttle once again without any fear of urine leak.

Say goodbye to panty liners and pads and no longer fear smelling like urine.

This revolutionary FDA approved INNOVO device is readily available through Urology Care Bahamas.

Eighty-seven percent of users of the at-home use device are completely dry or have rare minimal urine leak after 12 weeks of treatment.

It’s as simple as putting on a technologically advanced comfortable bicycle shorts connected to a painless electrical pelvic muscle stimulator; used privately at home.

Seek confidential and compassionate state of the art painless treatment for your urinary leaking.

A confidential urology consult is required to pinpoint the exact cause of bladder leak and determine whether the INNOVO device is right for you.

Gain control again of your bladder and your happiness. Live your life to the fullest, with complete control of your bladder, and throw away the panty liners and pads and live your life confidently without the terrible hindrance of urinary leaks.

• Dr Greggory Pinto is a Bahamian urologist who has trained in South Africa, Germany and France. He is a member of the European Association of Urologists. He can be reached at Urology Care Bahamas at the Surgical Suite, Centreville Medical Centre, Collins Avenue and Sixth Terrace. Call (242) 326-1929, e-mail welcome@urologycarebahamas.com, or visit the website www.urologycarebahamas.com.