Percutaneous Tibial Nerve Stimulation
The European launch of a simple, new medical treatment took place in London on the 13th April 1999, and brings hope to millions of men and women who suffer from Urge Urinary Incontinence (urge UI) - one of the most common and debilitating conditions affecting all age ranges, and one of the most difficult to accurately diagnose and treat. The treatment also has a place in helping some sufferers of Interstitial Cystitis.
The treatment, known as PTNS (Percutaneous Tibial Nerve Stimulation) - a simple nerve stimulator inserted near the ankle - now offers quick and effective help. It works by sending a mild electrical current through a very fine needle, inserted near a nerve bundle near the ankle. The stimulation is then carried to the sacral nerves that control bladder function. Patients normally receive one 30-minute treatment per week for ten weeks. Initial trials at the University of California at San Francisco proved successful in 80 per cent of cases.
Urinary Incontinence is known to wreck the lives of sufferers who are often forced to endure severe pelvic pain and major bladder discomfort. Sufferers’ lives - as well as those of their families - frequently revolve around quick and easy access to loos and to hiding the embarrassment of their problem from friends and work colleagues.
In the UK, PTNS is currently available only through urologists to enable a precise diagnosis of patient symptoms. It is hoped that the treatment will become more widely available through General Practitioners.