Artificial Urinary Spchinter

Here are some first hand comments from somebody that had it.
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/comment/1397682/
I’m 78 in a couple of weeks and I want to have one put in. I can’t really travel because I leak constantly if I’m standing or sitting. I know a number of people that have had them put in and are quite happy with them.

I had mine activated in July.
Pretty happy with it.
20 years younger than your hubby, though.
It's activated 6 weeks after surgery, so he'll continue with the pads until the device is activated.
Should be 90% dry after that.
It's not perfect, but still worth doing, once he gets over the initial 2 weeks recovery.

@peterj116 Thanks for replying! Glad to hear you are happy with it. My husband is 80 years old and has some other health challenges also. How bad was the 2 week recovery period? Of course it would be less traumatic for a 60 yr. old than 80 yr. old.

@mirsy It wasn't too bad. It's more of a physical change. The whole area turned black for a few days. Bit of a shock for a guy - unless he's black in the first place. lol

But other than that, some mobility issues & he'll need help with showering & dressing for the first week or two. (handy tip: dry his undercarriage with a hair dryer after a shower. I didn't have that on my marriage bingo card).

But if the urologist is comfortable recommending it, he can't be anticipating any major problems with the recovery period.

Was it a one night hospital stay?

@mirsy For me, it was two nights. Not sure why. Everything I'd read previously said one. Maybe I'm just so much fun to have around....

@peterj116 That's definately why you had to stay another night!! My husband HATES staying in the hospital but 2 nites isn't much. Thanks again for all your input. It helps to hear what someone who has gone through it has to say.

@mirsy It's a fairly recent procedure, so still quite fresh in my mind, so happy to explain the experience. How many pads a day is he going through at the moment? I was on 7 per day, 9 months post-prostatectomy & the urologist was horrified.

He has had a Foley catheter for the past 2 months and hates it. He had the radical prostatectomy about 20 years ago and had been using a clamp successfully - however the clamp started an ulcer which is taking a long time to heal hence the catheter. He cant have the AUS until the ulcer is completely healed.

@mirsy Don't blame him. I think we all hate the catheter. There is a condom catheter as an alternative. I've read that the clamp is a temporary solution & shouldn't be used for more than 2 hours at a time.
AUS sounds like the best solution.