ProACT™ for Male Stress Urinary Incontinence
Bladder Control Problems After Prostate Surgery
The bladder is the muscle that contracts around the urethra (tube that empties urine from the bladder) and prevents urine from being lost unintentionally. This muscle can be damaged when the prostate is removed, causing occasional or continuous dribbling and uncontrolled urine leaks.
If you have had cancer of the prostate that required a radical prostatectomy, you may experience accidental urine leaks when you put pressure on your bladder, such as during a sneeze, cough, or exercise. This condition is called stress urinary incontinence.
You are Not Alone
In 1999, an estimated 179,300 men were expected to be diagnosed with prostate cancer in the United States alone.1 Because treatment of prostate cancer often requires surgery to remove the prostate, it is likely that many of these men would also suffer from stress incontinence, a disturbing complication that often follows radical prostatectomy. The average time to regain normal bladder control after this type of surgery is about three months.2 Even so, a recent study revealed that 18 months after surgery, 8.4% of patients still had poor urinary control (dribbling and accidental leakage).3
Effective Treatment for Male Stress Incontinence
Treatments for stress incontinence include exercises to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles, medication and surgery to implant a male or mid-urethral adjustable sling. If at least six months have passed after prostate surgery, and exercises and medications have not been successful, ProACT Therapy can be considered. Due to its minimally invasive nature, some urologists consider ProACT first if non-surgical methods have not been successful.4,5,6
ProACT Therapy is a solution to a life-long problem. Benefits of ProACT Therapy include:
- Requires a minimally invasive procedure with quick recovery
- Offers freedom to be active
- Improves quality of life
- Can be adjusted to best meet each patient’s individual needs
The ProACT Device to Treat Urinary Incontinence after Prostatectomy
The ProACT Device consists of two small implantable balloons. During a short outpatient procedure, the balloons are surgically placed under the skin in the area where your prostate was surgically treated. The balloons help protect against accidental leaking of urine by increasing the amount of pressure required to urinate. (When you need to urinate, a normal amount of effort still should be required to push the urine out. However, the pressure from the balloons will help guard against unintentional urine loss, such as during a sneeze or cough.)
The complete ProACT System is implanted within your body and once implanted, no-one but you will know it is there. Your doctor can inflate, deflate, or remove the device as necessary at any time after the surgery. There is no need for you to manipulate any part of the device, as would be the case with an artificial urinary sphincter.
View ProACT clinical results for male urinary incontinence
Contact Uromedica to learn more about how ProACT Therapy may meet your individual needs.
Important Safety Information About ProACT
Footnotes
1 Landis SH, et al. Cancer Statistics, 1999. CA Cancer J Clin. 1999:9;8-31.
2 Young MD, et al. Urinary continence and Quality of life in the first year after radical perineal prostatectomy. J Urol. December 2003:170;2374-2378.
3 Stanfor JL, et al. Urinary and sexual function after radical prostatectomy for clinically localized prostate cancer. JAMA. January 19, 2000:283(3);354-360.
4 “Treatments of Incontinence after prostatectomy using a new minimally invasive device: adjustable continence therapy” by Hübner W and Schlarp O in BJUI Sep 2005: 96 (4), 587-594.
5 “Prospective Study evaluating efficacy and safety of Adjustable Continence Therapy (ProACT) for Post Radical Prostatectomy Incontinence” by Trigo Rocha F et.al. in Urology 67 (5) 2006 965-969.
6 “Adjustable Continence Therapy for the treatment of male stress urinary incontinence: a single-centre study” by Kocjancic E in Scand. Jrnl of Urolo. And Nephr. 2007; 41:324-328.
Therapy Availability for Men with Stress Incontinence
ProACT Therapy has been been used in more than 5,000 men in Europe, Canada, Australia, South America and New Zealand. It is currently being studied in the United States in a Food and Drug Administration clinical study.
Find the prescribing doctor nearest to you (outside the US).
—This page last modified Wednesday February 6, 2008