Patient Case Study: Debra 

History

This 50-year-old female had a history of painful urgency, frequency, since 1994. Typically, she voided fourteen times per day and seven to eight times at night. She slept poorly as a result of urinary frequency. By late June 1998, she could no longer work and was on disability.
She had seen several other urologists and had urodynamics, a cystoscopy, renal ultrasound, and a bladder biopsy, among other tests. Her previous treatments included biofeedback, anti-cholinergics, and DMSO administered to the bladder for frequency and pain. Though initially effective, the DMSO treatments no longer provided relief.

InterStim Treatment

In July 1998, the test stimulation was performed. The patient was given a local anesthetic, and a lead was placed near the S3 foramen on the left side. Within three days, her symptoms improved. The patient's voiding diary indicated that with sacral nerve stimulation, she now voided five times per day, and did not need to void at all at night. When the test lead was turned off after the third day, the patient's symptoms returned.

In mid-August, the patient was admitted to the hospital and implanted while under a general anesthetic. The permanent lead was placed near the right S3 foramen. The neurostimulator was pocketed near the beltline below the iliac crest. The patient had a low-grade fever following surgery, but did not have any significant complications.

Results

The patient experienced the same good results as she had during the test stimulation. Her voiding frequency was reduced to five times per day and she no longer fdt the need to void at night. Her quality of life improved dramatically. She is able to sleep better, enjoy social activities without interruption, and she returned to her job as a coordinator at a home for mentally disabled.