Bulkamid | Urinary Incontinence
Bulkamid Treatment
For one-third of American women, a cough, laugh, or sneeze can lead to a momentary loss of bladder control. This common condition involves involuntary urine leakage and is called stress urinary incontinence (SUI). It’s a problem that can impact and interfere with daily life and activities.
Pelvic floor muscle therapy, such as Kegel exercises, is the initial therapy for SUI. But it doesn’t always work. Fortunately, when that therapy fails to control urinary symptoms, Franklin County Medical Center doctors can offer another treatment option. Bulkamid hydrogel is a minimally invasive approach that may help in avoiding a more invasive mid-urethral sling.
What is Bulkamid?
Bulkamid is a soft hydrogel used as a urethral bulking agent to block urine leakage. It has been used to treat SUI in 45 countries for more than 15 years.
Bulkamid is a gel made of 97.5% water and 2.5% polyacrylamide. A series of small, simple injections deliver it to the wall of the urethra, the tube allowing urine to flow from the bladder outside the body. Once injected, the water-based gel forms a network of fine fibers that clings to the wall of the urethra. Bulkamid stays in the body, building up the volume of the urethra over time to prevent future urine leakage.
What to expect
At Franklin County Medical Center, we understand SUI can interfere with daily life and impact a woman’s everyday activities. Our urologist works to make treatment as convenient as possible. This is a simple procedure performed under sedation. You can expect to only have mild discomfort after the procedure. Typically, there is no need for post operative pain medication.
Here’s how Bulkamid therapy works:
- Our urologist inserts a small cystoscope — a small-sized tube with a tiny camera at the end — into the urethra to deliver the gel to the right areas.
- They deliver four injections of the gel into the tissue of the urethra until the opposite walls touch in the middle.
- The cystoscope is removed, and the tissue is allowed to heal.
- After the procedure, you can expect to have some slowing of the urinary stream compared to before the procedure. Rarely does this lead to any need for further intervention.
Bulkamid benefits
Worldwide, more than 70,000 women have been successfully treated with Bulkamid. In fact, around 70% of patients report a cure to leaking after one injection. Around 30% of patients undergoing Bulkamid will require an additional treatment. This may be an additional round of injections or moving on to a mid-urethral sling. Using this therapy to address SUI offers several other benefits, including:
- Quick, 10- to 15-minute, minimally invasive procedure
- No incisions
- Immediate relief of symptoms
- Return to normal activities within 24 hours
- Long-lasting results
Other treatment options
Patients should talk with their doctors to find the most appropriate treatment option for SUI. Bulkamid isn’t the only therapy available, so it’s important to know how it compares to other treatments.
- Mesh sling: Through a small vaginal incision and two incisions outside the vagina, urologists insert a small piece of mesh to support the urethra. The procedure takes around 30 minutes. Women spend up to two days in the hospital, and recovery can last up to six weeks. This treatment is effective over 90% of the time.
- Autologous tissue sling: This treatment involves an incision like a Cesarean section and a second small incision in the vaginal wall. Urologists take some of the patient’s own tissue (usually from the thigh or abdomen) and insert it around the urethra for additional support. This procedure lasts over an hour, and women can spend up to two days in the hospital. Total recovery time is approximately six weeks, and the success rate is over 90%.
Our expert team can help you determine if Bulkamid is the proper treatment for your SUI. Contact us for the help you need.
Call 208-852-1295