In control again: Incontinence Surgery

Gloria Banks was suffering from something not uncommon among menopausal women or those who have given birth – urinary stress incontinence caused by weakened muscles that allow the bladder and urethra to descend.

“I noticed that when I coughed or I laughed that I could feel water coming out. And I just really didn’t pay a lot of attention. I just started padding myself.”

She had the involuntary loss of urine when she coughs, sneeze, laughs, jump or strain. Any of these efforts could make her lose urine.

Gloria consulted Dr. Korial Atty, the chief of obstetrics and gynecology at DMC Sinai-Grace Hospital. He suggested a minimally-invasive procedure with the Monarc Subfacial Hammock It’s a sling placed underneath the urethra. Muscle contractions cause it to shut off the flow of urine in moments of stress like coughing or sneezing, yet it remains loose to allow the normal release of urine when the urge arises.

“We make a very small incision on the inner thigh area overlying an opening naturally present in the pelvic bone,” describes Dr. Atty. “Through this small incision we thread a mesh through a natural opening underneath the urethra and bring it out on the other side in the same opening. The mesh is left loose underneath the urethra. This acts as a hammock and kinks the urethra when she coughs or sneezes, preventing the leakage.”

For the surgery, Gloria needed only local anesthesia, and the whole procedure took only 15 minutes. After surgery, Gloria was back to work in a few days. 

“(In  five days) I was feeling a whole lot better, and I wasn’t having that problem with my bladder feeling heavy and full, like I had to go to the bathroom. I was walking up the stairs, I was fixing my dinner, my lunch, those things you normally do.”

There’s no doubt that treating stress incontinence can greatly improve quality of life. “I would tell ladies don’t hesitate” Says Gloria. “This was a wonderful thing to have done to eliminate that problem that you’re having. Why hold on to it when you can get it corrected and get back to normal?”

To request an appointment, please call 888-DMC-2500.