STRESS URINARY INCONTINENCE (SUI)
In this condition, the patient experiences urinary leakage with coughing, sneezing, laughing or during physical activity. This typically affects women following vaginal deliveries and/or had undergone hysterectomy. In addition, some men who have had surgery for prostate cancer (radical prostatectomy) can experience SUI as well as patients, of both genders, with neurlogical diseases, following pelvic trauma or pelvic surgery for colon or gynecological cancer. The women will most commonly suffer from symptoms of SUI due to poor urethral support (Genuine SUI) or incompetent function of the sphincteric mechanism at the bladder neck. This condition can be also found among men and patients with neurological or traumatic etiologies and it is termed Internal sphincteric dysfunction (ISD). The surgical treatment for genuine SUI is different from the one for ISD and an accurate urodynamic testing should distinguish between the to types.
Updated June 23rd, 2007