Implantable Sling For The Treatment Of Male Incontinence And Method Of Using The Same

Abstract

An implantable sling for the treatment of male incontinence and method of implementing the same. The sling comprises a urethral support portion and at least one anchoring portion extending therefrom. The anchoring portion is operatively positioned through the obturator foramen and about at least one ramus portion of the pelvis such that the support portion of the implant is operatively positioned at or distal to the bulbar urethra to treat urinary incontinence. In a preferred embodiment, the implant will have first and second anchoring portions extending from the support portion with each respective one of said anchoring portions being operative to be secured about dedicated ones of the patient's pubic ramus. The implants may further be fabricated from tissues, synthetic materials or combinations thereof.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] Not Applicable STATEMENT RE: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH / DEVELOPMENT [0002] Not Applicable BACKGROUND [0003] The present invention is directed to surgical implants for the treatment of male incontinence, and in particular, implantable slings that are operative to provide sling-type support at or distal to the bulbar urethral region of a patient and operatively anchored into position via fixation about the patient's descending rami. [0004] Of the estimated 19 million North American adults who have urinary incontinence, 20% are estimated to be men. Such condition can range in severity from partial to complete loss of bladder control and patients afflicted with urinary incontinence can experience varying degrees of urine loss. In addition, it is known that urinary incontinence may change over time and that men with light incontinence, for example, may experience minimal leakage during the occurrence of a provocative event, such as laughin...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0014] Regardless of the embodiment, in all procedures involving the implantation of the implants of the present invention, such procedures are performed with the patient assuming a lithotomy position. A vertical perineal incision is made in the midline dissecting to expose the bulbar urethra and the inferior aspect of the descending rami bilaterally. A surgical introducer is utilized to introduce the implant into position, typically through the obturator foramen, in a manner that is substantially easier and less traumatic than conventional surgical procedures utilized to access and implant slings for the treatment of male incontinence. Once the surgical site is accessed and the anchoring portion will preferably be positioned through the obturator foramen and anchored into position. Surgical sutures and the like may be deployed to facilitate anchoring of the anchor portions of the implant. Minor variations well-known to those skilled in the art may necessarily be made to effectuate optimal attachment and positioning of the support portion of the implant, as may be necessary for a given patient. In all cases, however, the surgical procedures and implants of the present invention provide a radically more efficient, effective and less traumatic surgical approach to the treatment of male incontinence.

Problems solved by technology

In addition, it is known that urinary incontinence may change over time and that men with light incontinence, for example, may experience minimal leakage during the occurrence of a provocative event, such as laughing or coughing, whereas men with heavy incontinence may experience continuous urine leakage.

Urge incontinence occurs when the patient wants to urinate but is incapable of exercising restraint until reaching a restroom.

Additional types of incontinence include overflow incontinence, which occurs when the quantity of urine exceeds the capacity of the patient's bladder, and functional incontinence, which occurs when the patient has knowledge of the need to urinate but simply cannot access a restroom quickly enough due to a physical obstruction or debilitation.

With respect to utilizing sling implants to treat male incontinence, however, such approach has numerous drawbacks.

Due to the differences between male and female anatomy, to secure suburethral sling implants into position typically requires the use of bone screws, which are well-known in the art to be difficult and time consuming to deploy, and can result in significant patient discomfort, especially within the first couple of weeks following the surgical implantation.

In addition, implanting suburethral slings are often times difficult to secure into position with the optimal degree of tension.

Indeed, the implantation of suburethral slings for the treatment of male incontinence is well-recognized as complex, time consuming and can produce suboptimal clinical outcomes.

Moreover, it is well recognized among urologists performing such implant procedures that sutures attached to bone anchors and or bone screws utilized to secure the sling into position frequently break and that often times additional bone screws must be secured into position.

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