Millions of Americans suffer from urinary incontinence and the embarrassment it causes. In fact, data show nearly half of women have urinary incontinence, a number that rises dramatically as women get older.
Urine leakage is especially common after menopause — so common that many women think it’s a natural part of getting older. But urine leakage is never normal, and there are treatments that can help you control your symptoms.
At the Center for Urogynecology and Advanced Laparoscopic Surgery, OB/GYN Rafael J. Perez, MD, FACOG, helps women manage incontinence symptoms with the state-of-the-art FemiLift® system, a nonsurgical laser system that restores weak tissues for better pelvic support.
If you have urine leakage, here’s how FemiLift could help.
Urine leakage has different causes, depending in part on the type of leakage you have. Stress incontinence is the most common type. This type occurs when pressure is placed on your bladder.
If you have stress incontinence, you might leak urine when you cough, laugh, sneeze, or take part in certain types of physical activity.
Stress incontinence affects about half of older women and a third of women overall. It’s more common among women who:
It’s also much more common among women in menopause.
Other types of incontinence include urge incontinence (or overactive bladder), which causes strong, frequent urges to urinate, and overflow incontinence, when your bladder doesn't completely empty when you urinate. This last kind is more common among men.
Some people have mixed incontinence, a condition that involves more than one type (usually stress incontinence and urge incontinence). FemiLift is most helpful for women with the most common type of incontinence, stress incontinence.
Stress incontinence happens more often as you age because the muscles and tissues that support the bladder tend to weaken and lose their tone and firmness, increasing the likelihood that urine will leak when you don’t want it to.
Part of that weakening is due to pressure from childbirth and weight fluctuations. But it’s also due to a decline in collagen, a protein that keeps tendons and muscles strong.
FemiLift uses laser technology to target tissues in the vaginal canal. As the laser energy penetrates, it promotes increased collagen production and enhances blood flow, restoring tonicity and strength for reduced urinary incontinence symptoms.
Those same effects also help restore your vaginal health for better wellness overall.
The FemiLift device is designed specifically for the vaginal canal. During treatment, you recline on the exam table and relax while we gently insert the cylinder-shaped device.
Once it’s in place, we administer tiny bursts of laser energy to stimulate circulation and natural healing. Treatment takes about a half hour, and afterward, you can resume your regular routine, avoiding strenuous activities (including sexual intercourse) for a few days to allow the area time to heal.
Most women notice initial improvements within a few weeks as new collagen networks form. Depending on your needs and symptoms, we may recommend an additional treatment for optimal results. Touch-up treatments maintain those results.
Urine leakage is a common problem, but fortunately, we can treat it. To learn more about FemiLift and other incontinence treatment options, call our office to request an appointment with Dr. Perez and our team at the Center for Urogynecology and Advanced Laparoscopic Surgery in South Miami, Florida, today.
