Interstim® Office Testing

Many times when a patient presents to see me for the first time in the office with symptoms of urinary frequency, urgency or urge incontinence, they have already tried dietary changes, one or more medications, and pelvic floor exercises. When this is the case, I like to offer the patient a different type of therapy called sacral modulation.

There are two different types of sacral modulation, InterStim and Percutaneous Tibial Nerve Stimulation (PTNS). In this video, I would like to talk to you briefly about InterStim.

InterStim is a technique that allows us to stimulate the nerves (that help control the bladder) with just a tiny amount of current via a very small wire.To see if you are a candidate for InterStim therapy, we perform a brief test in the office called a basic examination (previously referred to as a Stage 1 examination). In this procedure, we slide two tiny little wires underneath the skin next to the tailbone and connect those wires to a small pager looking device. We have the patient leave the office and keep a voiding diary to measure their symptoms of frequency and urgency and see the patient back in the office approximately 48 hours later after which time we remove the wires. At that time, I will review your voiding diary, and see if you are a candidate for an InterStim implantation.

For additional information on Sacral Modulation and Interstim, please review the following list of Permamarks