Stress urinary incontinence can be treated or managed in 85 percent to 90 percent of all cases. Family care physicians, internists and gynecologists can treat stress urinary incontinence, as can urologists and urogynecologists, physical therapists and trained nurse practitioners. Treatment options include behavioral therapy, urethral inserts which control the symptoms of stress urinary incontinence, drug treatment, pessary devices, collagen implants and other surgery. Sometimes women need assistance with biofeedback or electrical stimulation to help them isolate, identify and strengthen the pelvic muscles. Estrogen can also be an effective treatment for stress urinary incontinence, since it increases blood supply to the tissues and strengthens the pelvic muscles.
Pessary devices are vaginal inserts which support and hold up the urinary organs and bladder neck.
They are generally prescribed for people who have defects of the vaginal structure, such as a fallen bladder or weak bladder neck. The most often prescribed device for women with stress urinary incontinence is a bladder neck support prosthesis, a ring-like device with supports which fit up and behind the urethra. It is initially fitted and prescribed by a physician or nurse specialist, worn daily and removed each night at bedtime. Collagen implants are most often recommended for patients who have a condition known as intrinsic sphincteric deficiency. In this outpatient surgical procedure, collagen, a naturally-occurring protein found in humans and animals, is injected by a urologist or a urologynecologist into the tissues surrounding the urethra.