Men are less likely to experience urinary incontinence compared to women and also less likely to seek treatment. In fact, only one in five men with symptoms talks to their doctor about it, even though it’s a very treatable problem.
Dr. Paul Chung and his staff have a great deal of experience in treating stress urinary incontinence in men. You can expect a thorough explanation of your options, and highly skilled care when Dr. Chung, who is involved in clinical research in addition to delivering patient care, provides treatment for your urinary incontinence.
Urinary incontinence is the involuntary loss of urine. In order to understand why it happens, you need to understand the parts of your urinary tract.
Your kidneys filter out waste from your blood. To dispose of the waste, your body mixes it with water, creating urine, and sends it to your bladder. Your bladder holds the urine until it’s full, and then it sends a signal to your brain that you need to urinate.
Your urine exits your body via the urethra. Inside the urethra is the sphincter muscle, which normally stays contracted unless you’re urinating. During urination, it opens and allows the urine to flow from your bladder through your urethra and out of your body.
Several problems can happen during this whole process, but the most common reason for incontinence in men is when there’s a problem with the sphincter muscle that keeps the urine in the bladder. It may not be strong enough to stay closed when it’s under stress—such as when you cough, for example—or it may be damaged due to something like a previous surgery to remove your prostate.
In the phrase “stress urinary incontinence,” stress means anything physical. You may lose urine when you sneeze, lift something heavy, or even laugh – anything that requires your muscles to work harder to hold in urine.
Depending on how damaged the sphincter is, you may lose more than a few drops of urine. It may feel less like leakage and more like a flood.
You may be embarrassed by the problem and find that you don’t participate in social activities, sports, or engage in your hobbies as you once did. Dr. Chung understands that you may be suffering with emotional distress and potential isolation, and offers compassionate care to help you regain your quality of life.
Once Dr. Chung has a thorough understanding of why you’re experiencing stress urinary incontinence, he can offer you effective treatment recommendations. The best solution depends on numerous individual factors, but some of the common approaches include:
Certain foods and beverages, such as coffee, can irritate your bladder. Reducing the amount of potential irritants (while still drinking enough water each day) can help reduce symptoms. Dr. Chung and his staff can help you find the right balance of fluid intake.
Since it’s often a weak muscle that leads to stress urinary incontinence, physical therapy can help strengthen that muscle. Dr. Chung recommends a physical therapist who is specially trained to work with men who have stress urinary incontinence.
Sometimes surgery is the best treatment, and a common procedure to correct stress urinary incontinence is a urethral sling. The sling is a mesh implant that slightly compresses your urethra and moves it so that it works better.
An artificial urinary sphincter is an implantable device that replaces your weakened sphincter. It includes a cuff that goes around your urethra, a balloon in your abdomen, and a pump in your scrotal skin. When you need to urinate, you squeeze the pump, which opens the cuff and allows the urine to pass through.
If you’ve already had surgery, either to remove your prostate gland or to correct stress urinary incontinence, but you’re still having problems, you may need revision surgery. Since Dr. Chung is an expert in reconstructive surgery, he can help you when you need specialized, customized care.
To learn more about the causes of stress urinary incontinence and your treatment options, schedule an appointment at either of our offices in Philadelphia.
