What is the purpose of
female incontinence surgery?
Incontinence can oftentimes be an embarrassing issue, but
there is relief to be found with incontinence surgery with
pelvic floor reconstruction.
Women who leak urine typically do
so because of one of two types of incontinence.
The first type of incontinence is described as urge
incontinence, which is an involuntary contraction of the bladder
during filling. This is generally manifested with leakage of
large volumes of urine with associated urge or need to urinate.
This type of leakage typically responds well to medical therapy.
The second type of leakage is termed stress incontinence, which
is leakage of urine, usually small to moderate volumes, in
association with some type of physical activity. Many women
report leakage that occurs with cough, sneeze and exercise. This
type of incontinence usually stems from an abnormality in the
bladder’s support system which can occur with age or after
pregnancies.
Female incontinence surgery is indicated for treatment of stress
urinary incontinence. The surgeries listed above accomplish
their goal by restoring the natural support system underneath
the bladder. Typically, the surgery is performed through a
vaginal approach which minimizes pain and discomfort for the
patient following surgery. The surgery can be performed as an
outpatient surgery with a brief anesthetic or may be combined
with other gynecological surgeries if indicated based upon the
patient’s condition.
What are the symptoms following female incontinence surgery?
Once you initially recuperate and leave the surgery center or
hospital, we generally require patients to reduce their activity
level for several days. Your doctor will confirm how many days
will be needed based upon the type of incontinence surgery you
have. In this period of time, it is very common to have variable
amounts of fatigue that generally improves over 2-3 weeks.
Pain is generally mild, but may be noted in the vagina or in the
lower abdomen on either side of the pubic bone.
Typically, patients will have a vaginal discharge that resembles
a menstrual flow for approximately one week which will then
turns to either a clear or white vaginal discharge for 3-4 weeks
as stitches heal and dissolve.
It is very common to have changes in your bladder activity for
the first 4-6 weeks after any type of incontinence surgery.
These changes include an increase sensation of urgency and
frequent need to urinate, as well as perhaps a small amount of
leakage associated with urgency. Typically, these symptoms are
caused by irritability of the bladder, which will resolve
spontaneously over 6-8 weeks following the surgery. It is also
very common to have some slowing of the urinary stream. This
will more gradually change and improve over a period of 2-3
months.
When should I seek advice from my physician? A patient should
contact their physician if they run a temperature of 101 degrees
or greater following the procedure.
Voiding problems that would require a visit to your doctor’s
office would include the inability to urinate for greater than 6
hours despite feeling the urge or urinating very small amounts
(1-2 tablespoons) every 15 minutes.
While some bleeding is common following the procedure, more
significant bleeding is rarely encountered. This type of
bleeding, however, would manifest itself with the soaking of
multiple pads over an hour’s period of time. If this occurs,
either contact your doctor or go to the emergency room for more
evaluation.
Most women experience mild to moderate pain for the first
several days following their procedure. Most women report that
this pain is well controlled with either ibuprofen or Tylenol or
in some instances, pain medication which will be given to you
following the procedure. If these medicines are not sufficiently
improving your discomfort, contact your physician for further
evaluation
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