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. A British study supports growing evidence that a woman's subfertility and its treatment don't increase risks of neural tube defects in her offspring. However women who had multiple births or gave birth to girls appeared to have a higher risk of the defects.