Chronic Constipation Your Health

Getting the Therapy

Getting InterStim™ Therapy for Bladder or Bowel Control

If your bladder and/or bowel control problems are preventing you from living a full life, sacral neuromodulation with our InterStim Therapy system may provide relief. The minimally-invasive implant surgery can be done under local anaesthetic and may not require a hospital stay. Most people return to their regular activities within a few days.

Is It Right for You?

Some people find that standard treatments for bladder or bowel control problems don’t work well for them. Others can’t tolerate the side-effects of medications, or want to avoid irreversible treatment options. Find out if InterStim Therapy is the right treatment for your bladder or bowel symptoms.

Get information on a trial assessment to determine if InterStim Therapy will work for you. If you achieve good results from the trial assessment, you can discuss what to expect before, during, and after the simple, short operation.

Expand All

Is It Right for You?

Is InterStim™ Therapy Right for You?

Your doctor will help you to determine if sacral neuromodulation (InterStim Therapy) is right for you. This treatment is designed to reduce bladder and bowel symptoms for people who suffer from overactive bladder, urinary retention, faecal incontinence or constipation.

InterStim Therapy may be a good option for people who have not been helped by standard treatments or who could not tolerate them.

Evaluation Phase

An evalutation can be performed to see how well InterStim Therapy can help with your bladder and/or bowel problems. The Evaluation is done with the Verify Evaluation System, which is specifically designed for this part of the treatment to allow your doctor to take the best treatment decision. This procedure uses an external neurostimulator, the so-called Verify™ ENS together with a test lead that is inserted during a simple procedure in your doctor's surgery or operating room.

Throughout the evaluation phase, you will keep track of your bladder and/or bowel symptoms in a special diary. If your symptoms are greatly reduced or eliminated during the evaluation, you may benefit from long-term use of InterStim Therapy.

With long-term use, a neurostimulator is implanted under your skin, in your upper buttocks, so that you do not need to wear it on a belt and can resume your regular activities. Your doctor will discuss this operation with you and explain what happens next.

Will It Eliminate Your Symptoms?

The results of sacral neuromodulation vary from person to person. This treatment option is not a cure for bladder or bowel problems: symptoms will come back if the treatment is stopped for some time. But, many people experience a significant benefit immediately and in the long run.

Next: Surgery: What to Expect

Surgery: What to Expect

Surgery: What to Expect – Implanting the Neurostimulator

Your healthcare team will explain what happens when the InterStim™ neurostimulator is implanted and what to expect before and after the surgery. They will also answer any questions you may have.

Before the Procedure

Instructions given to people may differ between doctors. It’s important to follow all of your doctor's instructions closely.

During the Procedure

Having the InterStim system implanted requires a short operation (about one hour) in an operating room.

You may only need a local anaesthetic, so you will be awake during the surgery or your doctor may decide to give you a general anaesthetic
A small incision will be made in your upper buttock where your doctor will insert the neurostimulator under the skin
A small incision will also be made in your lower back where a long-term electrode will be inserted next to your sacral nerves. The neurostimulator sends the electrical pulses through this thin wire to your sacral nerves.

After the Procedure

After the surgery, your doctor will programme the neurostimulator to give the same stimulation as during the trial assessment. You will be shown how to use the patient programmer so you can adjust the settings yourself.

You may need to restrict your activities for a short while after the surgery. Talk to your doctor about what is most appropriate for you. You will gradually be able to increase your activity level until you regain your usual lifestyle.

At first, you might also feel the sensation of the neurostimulator and the electrical pulses, but you should soon stop noticing them.

You will need to visit your doctor once or twice after the surgery for a check up.

Next: Living with the Device

Information on this site should not be used as a substitute for talking with your doctor. Always talk with your doctor about diagnosis and treatment information.