Slings have been used for many years, to treat female urinary incontinence. Over the last two years, slings have been used for men who have urinary incontinence. For more than two million men, losing control of urine with coughing, laughing, sneezing or lifting is frustrating and debilitating. Many of these men have undergone surgery for prostate cancer and their sphincters are not working well enough to keep them dry under these conditions.

A new sling, called the Advance System, is using a narrow strip of mesh that is passed through incisions, at the level of the inner thigh. The mesh is then passed behind the pubic bone and under the bottom of the urethra. This is the area that has been weakened after the prostate is removed. The sling procedure is best for men who have mild to moderate incontinence and can do well wearing one to four pads per day. This has been described by some men as “nuisance urinary incontinence”. 

Many men limit their fluid intake to attempt to compensate for this type of leakage. These are the very men who do well with this simple, quick, low risk, minimally invasive procedure. While the nuisance level incontinence may not always be perfectly controlled, it is about 90% effective. This is a tremendous improvement for men who have this problem and it leaves other options, if men feel that 90% improvement is not satisfactory. Men that we have treated with a male urethral sling agree that it has made a very positive change and they have recommended it to others who have a similar incontinence problem. Please contact us through this web site or at 614-442-3000, for more information. We look forward to working with you.

Did you know...

Most nursing home admissions are due primarily to urinary incontinence. Urinary incontinence is not just a normal part of the aging process, in most cases, there are options for treating this condition.

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