An estimated 13 million Americans suffer from urinary control problems. But for patients who don't respond to medication and behavioral treatments, the effects can be debilitating. InterStim Therapy uses neurostimulation to send mild electrical pulses to the sacral nerves in the lower back that control bladder function. A stopwatch-sized neurostimulator is implanted in the abdomen and generates pulses that are carried via a thin implanted lead, or wire, to the sacral nerves.
Physicians can non-invasively adjust the strength of stimulation appropriate to the patient.
A minimally invasive test stimulation initiated in a doctor's office allows the patient to experience the InterStim Therapy for several days prior to surgery to help assess whether InterStim Therapy will prove effective. Therapy may affect or be affected by pacemakers, defibrillators, or MRI equipment. Many insurance companies and most Medicare plans provide coverage for this procedure. These results held true regardless of whether the women studied also received hormone replacement therapy. Women over age 50 with congestive heart failure have a reduced risk of overall and cardiac mortality if they receive supplement estrogen, according to scientists from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.