The Good Bowel Habit
Third Edition
SACRAL NERVE STIMULATION FOR BOWEL AND BLADDER
Toowoomba Gastroenterology Clinic continues to have a strong interest in managing continence problems. Over the last 6 months we have started to place sacral nerve Stimulators in suitable patients to help with continence. Over the last 10 years sacral nerve stimulation (SNS) has emerged as a useful therapy for treatment of pelvic floor disorders, namely
• Faecal incontinence
• Urge urinary incontinence
• Non-obstructing bladder retention
• Obstructive defecation with constipation
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It is not known exactly how the therapy works but it seems to stimulate the pelvic floor nerves to contract the muscles that are weak and also to re-set the "pelvic pacemaker' and stop over activity which causes urgency of both bladder and bowel. The therapy is well tolerated and has a high success rate in selected patients (3 out of 4 patients selected for this procedure will have a positive response defined as "greater than 50% improvement in symptoms" to this therapy.