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Bladder sling or artificial urinary sphincter. Pros and cons?
I’m 71 and deciding on a bladder sling or artificial urinary sphincter. Visiting surgeon next week for more details and discussion. I’ve read the AUS is the gold standard, but putting a foreign object in my body and possibly replacing in 5-7 years doesn’t excite me. It also seems cumbersome when peeing using two hands trying to reach the button. I understand the bladder sling is a one and done deal and sometimes not as affective, (I still needs pads)but it seems like the closest procedure to getting back to my old way of peeing. Any details or feedback would be helpful. Thanks in advance.
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Have you had radiation treatment?. If so, the sling is probably not going to work.
A better choice, If you haven’t had radiation is ProACT. I Was in a seminar with a urologist Who specializes in incontinence, And he really liked ProACT, It can be controlled from outside your body. A few people here have already tried it and like it.
The same urologist said that the only thing that really works if you’ve had radiation is the AUS.
No radiation. Complete prostatectomy 14 months ago. Uncontrolled leaking. Surgery is in the near future, just deciding which way to go. Bladder sling or AUS.
A lot of people that have prostatectomy end up needing salvage radiation within a few years. It took me 3 1/2.
If you do need radiation, then the sling may not continue to work well, I don’t know.
Here is a talk by a doctor that is a specialist in incontinence. It covers all the devices.
Just select browser when it asks for a password
https://cscpasadena-my.sharepoint.com/:v:/g/personal/a_swift_cancersupportsgv_org/ETp6Pjf45_9CnpeEDOo4KegBv08V7vAyDdDM2M9M3-Zz3Q
It would probably make sense to contact the doctor Humberto Villarreal to try to get more information. He is in Southern California.
Thank you for the information.
I had the sling installed 2 years after my prostatectomy. I went from 2 large pads a day to one medium pad per day.
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3 ReactionsI'm a receiver and proponent of the sling, but mine is a urethral sling, not a bladder sling. It is called a male urinary sling made by Boston Scientific and it has worked very well for me since it was surgically implanted in February of this year. I had a RALP back in 2023, and my incontinence never went away, though it diminished a lot over those two years. Based on what I researched, if your leakage is significant (more than two pads a day) this sling may not be right for you. But if you don't leak that much, you may want to pursue this option. It was outpatient surgery, through the perineum, under general anesthesia, and I had a catheter inserted overnight. I removed that myself the next day with no problems. Since my recovery of about 6 weeks, I have been physically active without significant leakage. I still use a liner in my underwear to catch nuisance drips after urinating. I haven't figured out how to stop those unless I spend more time shaking than I ever had to before.
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4 ReactionsAs a result of my radical prostatectomy , I was using five large pads a day. I had an AUS implanted and now use one thin pad a day. It is a little cumbersome and takes time to get used to, but before I had to take a large suitcase on vacation just for the pads. This is a really big improvement. If your incontinence isn’t all that bad, the sling may be enough. I also had an IPP implanted during the same surgery. It works great.
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