An operation called sling surgery is an effective treatment for urinary incontinence in men and it doesn’t cause blockage of the bladder, new research shows.

The findings, which appear in the Journal of Urology, are based on a study of 22 men with incontinence whose urinary function was assessed before and after undergoing the sling procedure.

The minimally invasive operation involves placing a silicone-coated mesh band internally around the urethra, the bladder outlet tube. Tension on the sling is adjusted to resist urine pressure up to a certain point, so that leakage under physical stress is prevented. The concern has been that this approach might impede normal voiding.

The participants in the study were followed for an average follow-up period was 25 months. Before surgery, urine leakage was rated as a big problem by 15 men and as a moderate problem by 7, Dr. Nathan F. E. Ullrich and Dr. Craig V. Comiter, from the University of Arizona Health Science Center in Tucson, note.

After surgery, three patients rated urine leakage as a big problem, three as a moderate problem, and the remainder described it as being little or no problem.

This improvement coincided with a drop in pad use and with an improvement in urinary function tests. None of the patients developed bladder blockage, the authors state.

The results suggest that the sling procedure is an effective treatment for urinary incontinence that does not cause bladder obstruction, the investigators conclude.

SOURCE: Journal of Urology, July 2004.