Stress incontinence is due to a weak urethra that fails to resist an elevated urinary pressure. So, every time the urine builds up in your bladder and the pressure goes up even slightly (such as during coughing or sneezing), your urine leaks out. A weak urethra can be due to weak muscles of the pelvic floor or a damaged urinary sphincter that fails to remain closed against an elevated pressure.

This type of incontinence results from an over-reactive bladder. The bladder wall contains a muscle called detrusor muscle. When relaxed, this muscle allows filling up of the bladder. It then contracts to expel urine out of the bladder into the urethra (creating an urge to urinate). In urge incontinence, the problem lies in over-reactivity of this detrusor muscle, due to which you feel the need to pee all the time.

This happens when the urethra is blocked or obstructed, such as due to an enlarged prostate. The bladder doesn’t empty when it should and so when it fills completely, the overflowing urine comes out by taking down the urethral obstruction. This also happens when the bladder muscles are weak and fail to push the urine out when normally required. This type of incontinence is also common in men.

Sometimes during prostatectomy, the sphincter can suffer a damage that can lead to a male incontinence. However, the risk for this unfortunate event is very low (about 1-2%) and it can never be predicted beforehand, even by expert surgeons. Besides, various incontinence types can be mixed, so you experience urinary leakage both due to a pressure build-up and due to a vague urge to urinate all the time.

These protective pads and external collection devices (such as catheter with collection bags) provide a temporary relief, especially for the elderly until a permanent surgical correction can be made. However, there is a stigma associated with their use. Still, we might recommend these based on your condition or if there’s a while in your surgical procedure.

Urge incontinence is a little different and can not be resolved completely by the above-mentioned procedures. Botox injections into the side wall of the bladder can help stabilize an over-reactive detrusor and improve the symptoms of urge incontinence. It is a short non-invasive procedure unlike surgical methods in which incisions are made to insert various implants.

This is an invasive procedure in which our experts insert a sling into the urethra through an incision in the perineum. The sling is made from polypropylene and is quite similar to the tension free vaginal tape used for female incontinence. It provides mechanical support to the urethra and prevents it from opening under pressure. The optimum tension is determined, so the patient can find a balance between the adequate bladder levels and the feeling of bladder satisfaction. However, this treatment is specific for male stress incontinence.

We implant an Artificial Urinary Sphincter (AUS) as an alternative to the natural mechanism under general anaesthesia. It consists of three parts: a cuff, balloon and a pump, all of which are connected by silicone tubes. The cuff is inserted into the perineum by an incision between the scrotum and anus. The pump is implanted in the scrotum and the balloon in the abdomen. The cuff is filled with saline to keep the urethra closed. When the patient wishes to urinate, he can deflate the cuff using the scrotal pump. Fluid from the balloon then fills the cuff, and this closes the urethra.