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Urology

Urological Conditions

Treatment of Interstitial Cystitis

Surgery

Did You Know…

Strong Health's urologists are among the nation's leaders in studying, diagnosing and treating interstitial cystitis.

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specialists

Surgery is normally the treatment of last resort for interstitial cystitis. In fact, some say surgery is called for in fewer than five percent of IC cases; further, many patients who have surgery continue to have pain symptoms after it.

Surgical Treatments

  • Sacral nerve stimulator
    This is a form of Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation. Designed to stimulate the sacral nerve, which controls bladder contractions. Essentially, it’s a pacemaker for the bladder. Like a pacemaker, it is a tiny device implanted under your skin, usually near the tailbone or in the abdomen, in a minor surgical procedure. A wire runs from the device to the nerve. Mild electrical pulses are sent along the wire to stimulate the nerve and control urination. This technique has successfully treated incontinence and is now being studied as a possible treatment for IC.
  • Minimally invasive surgical procedure
    For cases of ulcerative IC, minimally invasive surgical procedures using instruments inserted through a cystoscope (a thin, telescope-like instrument with a fiber-optic lighting system and a special lens) can be effective. Usually general anesthesia is given, then the cystoscope is gently inserted into the bladder through the urethra. The procedures include fulguration (using lasers or electricity to remove the ulcers) and resection (removing the ulcers by cutting them out).

  • Bladder augmentation and bladder removal
    Other surgical treatments include bladder augmentation (enlargement) and bladder removal (cystectomy). (Cystectomy requires rerouting urine into a bag worn outside the body or inside the abdomen, or into a new bladder made from a piece of the patient's bowel.) Both procedures have varied and unpredictable results and can leave patients with the same symptoms they started with.