For millions of women, urinary incontinence is a problem. Verde Valley Medical Center offers a wide range of treatment options to help patients struggling with urinary incontinence.

Referring to any involuntary loss of urine, urinary incontinence can dramatically affect a person’s life. The most common form is stress incontinence, which occurs as a result of physical activity such as laughing, sneezing or heavy lifting. In contrast, urge incontinence (also known as overactive bladder) is the loss of urine due to no apparent action.

Here to Help
Incontinence is a highly treatable medical condition.

“Every patient struggling with urinary incontinence is different,” said Michael Campenni, D.O., urologist on the Medical Staff at Verde Valley Medical Center. “That being said, we focus on developing the best course of treatment for our patients on an individual basis.

“In determining a treatment plan, factors taken into consideration include the type or severity of incontinence symptoms, the patient’s age and health status, and also the patient’s preference and expectations. As physicians, our goal is to determine which treatment approach is best suited to your specific condition.”

Treatment options for women include:
- Muscle retraining/behavioral therapy, in which a series of exercises may be used to help strengthen and increase the control of muscles involved in urination.
- Medication treatment is used in some cases of incontinence, and may be used in combination with behavioral therapy.
- Interstim therapy, which is an implantable device that sends mild electrical impulses to neurons in the bladder and pelvic floor muscles, preventing urge incontinence symptoms.
- Urethral sling, which is a narrow strip of material positioned around the urethra. The implanted sling acts much like a hammock, providing extra support to prevent accidental leakage.

“Each patient receives our full attention, and this results in tremendous improvement in quality of life,” said Dr. Campenni.