Department of Urologic Surgery

The faculty and staff have a commitment to patient education and awareness.  Extra effort is spent in discussing disease related phenomenon and options for treatment.

Urinary incontinence is a voiding disorder characterized by any uncontrollable or accidental leakage of urine.  It is embarrassing, uncomfortable and can directly affect not only a person's health but also the quality of everyday life.  It affects both men and women from the very young to the elderly.  Presently, it is a disease that affects over 10,000,000 Americans a year at an estimated cost of over 4 billion dollars a year.

The urinary bladder can be compared to a muscular balloon that stores urine produced by the body from its kidneys.  To fill and store urine, the bladder expands, and when it wants to empty, it contracts, thereby pushing urine out.   At the base of the bladder, a tube called the urethra is attached and is the path though which urine comes out.  The urethra is surrounded at the base by a muscle valve mechanism called a urinary sphincter that stays closed to keep urine in and opens to let urine out.  To fill, store and keep urine in the bladder, a coordination of closing the sphincter and relaxing the bladder muscle so as to expand and fill is necessary.  To empty and expel urine, the sphincter has to open and the bladder has to contract to push urine out.  The coordination of opening and closing the sphincter, and contracting and relaxing the bladder muscle relies on messages from the nerves and the brain.  Storing and keeping urine in the bladder requires all these parts and structures to work well and to support the bladder in its proper position.  When injury or a disease affects any of these parts, incontinence can occur.