Nerve-zapping pacemaker placed in your bum could end incontinence for good
Tried everything to stop the leaks but nothing works? Well, you may soon be in luck...
IF you struggle to leave the house without an emergency Tena Lady in your bag, help could soon be at hand.
A tiny, battery-powered pacemaker implanted into the buttocks could soon put an end to embarrassing leaks.
The device, made by US firm Axonics, works by zapping a nerve in the spine that helps to control urine flow.
It's the size of a USB stick and is the first to be recharged wirelessly through the skin - and it can last three times as long as the existing implants currently offered by the NHS.
Axonics says that if you have trouble peeing, it's probably because you've got an abnormal communication between the bladder and brain - which can cause a person to lose normal control of their bladder.
That can result in an urgent need to urinate, frequent urination or urine leakage.
The NHS estimates that up to 6 million Brits have some degree of urinary incontinence, with women being up to five times more likely to suffer stress urinary incontinence than men (thanks to childbirth and menopause).
How does the implant work?
The implant, which costs £20,000, has a lead which is placed under your skin on your tailbone. That wire is then connected to a small device called the stimulator which is implanted on your bum.
That stimulator works like a pacemaker, sending mild pulses through the wire to the sacral nerve (which controls your bladder and bowel activity), restoring normal bladder function.
Pulses too strong? The device comes with a remote control which allows you to see how much battery life still remains, as well as allowing you to change the pulse strength (although normally it's a doctor who makes those changes).
To charge it, all you have to do is stick the charging unit on top of your skin where the implant is buried, and it takes up to two hours to charge fully.
Does it cure incontinence fully?
No, but Axonics claim that within a couple of weeks, symptoms should be significantly reduced.
Axonics says: "Sacral Neuromodulation has been reported to provide over 50% reduction in voids or leaks per day in 2/3 of patients suffering from Overactive Bladder, and a complete cure of leaks in 1/3 patients suffering from Urinary Incontinence.
"It is the only treatment for Overactive Bladder that has objectively demonstrated superior efficacy to drugs2. Sacral Neuromodulation is also the only approved therapy that can treat both urinary and faecal symptoms with a single solution."
There have been a number of studies looking into this form of therapy which has found it to be really effective.
One, published in the Journal of Neurology and Urodynamics, looked at 340 people with urinary incontinence (most of whom were middle-aged women).
Scientists found that after 12 months of having sacral neuromodulation, subjects "showed significant improvement...with 80 per cent of subject reporting improved changes in their urinary symptoms interference at 12 months"!.
Who should have it?
Sacral Neuromodulation, as the therapy is known, is supposed to be for people who have tried other treatments - to no avail.
There are approximately 3 million people living with the incontinence who are currently without a suitable means of controlling it.
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The Axonics implant is being rolled out to NHS trusts next year and is already available at University College London Hospital and University Hospital of Southampton.
So if you live near either of those trusts, it might be worth asking your doctor about.
Over 300,000 people have been fitted with the device so far.
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