Women’s Health

Urogynecology is a sub specialty dedicated to treatment of disorders of the female pelvic floor such as urinary incontinence, overactive bladder, genital prolapse, and other associated conditions including fecal incontinence, interstitial cystitis, fistulas and neurological dysfunction of the bladder and pelvic floor. Urogynecology can also address female sexual dysfunction and painful intercourse. A urogynecologist undergoes additional training in gynecology and urology for the medical and surgical treatment of these disorders.

• What Is Urogynecology?

Under normal conditions in women, the bladder is held in place by a "hammock" of supportive pelvic floor muscles and tissue. When these tissues are stretched and/or become weak, the bladder can drop and bulge through this layer and into the vagina. This results in bladder prolapse also called cystocele. In severe cases, the prolapsed bladder can appear at the opening of the vagina. Sometimes it can even protrude (drop) through the vaginal opening. Bladder prolapse is common in women. The symptoms of bladder prolapse can be bothersome but it can be treated.

• What is a Bladder Prolapse?

Urinary incontinence is the unintentional loss of urine. Stress incontinence happens when physical movement or activity — such as coughing, sneezing, running, or heavy lifting — puts pressure (stress) on your bladder. Stress incontinence is not related to psychological stress. Stress incontinence differs from urge incontinence, which is the unintentional loss of urine caused by the bladder muscle contractions, usually associated with a sense of urgency. Stress incontinence is much more common in women than in men.

• Stress Urinary Incontinence

Overactive bladder is a problem with a bladder-storage function that causes a sudden urge to urinate. The urge may be difficult to stop, and overactive bladder may lead to the involuntary loss of urine (incontinence). If you have an overactive bladder, you may feel embarrassed, isolate yourself, or limit your work and social life. The good news is that a brief evaluation can determine whether there's a specific cause for your overactive bladder symptoms. Management of overactive bladder often begins with behavioral strategies, such as fluid schedules, timed voiding, and bladder-holding techniques using your pelvic floor. If these initial efforts don't help enough with your overactive bladder symptoms, second-line and third-line treatments are available.

• Overactive Bladder

Interstitial cystitis (IC)/bladder pain syndrome (BPS) is a chronic bladder health issue. It is a feeling of pain and pressure in the bladder area. Along with this pain are lower urinary tract symptoms which have lasted for more than 6 weeks, without having an infection or other clear causes. Symptoms range from mild to severe.

• Interstitial Cystitis Causes & Treatments

Axonics Therapy is a clinically proven solution for treating symptoms of overactive bladder (including urinary urgency incontinence), bowel (fecal) incontinence, and urinary retention.

• Axonics Therapy

If you’re ready to try an advanced approach, Medtronic bladder control therapy delivered by the InterStim™ system can help. It targets the nerves that control your bladder to help it function normally again.

• Medtronic InterStim Therapy