Have you heard about the new non-surgical treatment for incontinence?

Do you have incontinence?  Don't want to have surgery?  There's a new option!

Incontinence, or the leakage of urine, is very common in women, and I see women complaining of this problem every day.   In some studies, up to 50% of women suffer with incontinence!  This can be an embarrassing problem, and can also lead to hygiene issues.  Aging tissues and childbirth are two common causes of incontinence.

In the past, we did not have very good treatments.   If symptoms were reasonably mild, women could wear a pad "just in case".  If more severe, surgery could be done.  The surgical procedures available require inserting a mesh or sling (foreign materials) into the body to help support the tissues, and come with some risks.  This is not really a good option unless the symptoms are pretty severe.

Bioidentical hormone replacement therapy can also help with incontinence.  Hormones are very important to help keep tissues healthy, including the tissues of the urinary tract.  In some cases, incontinence can be greatly improved or even resolved with use of hormone replacement, and I see this regularly in my practice.

But in some women, bioidentical hormones do not completely resolve the problem.  We now have a new solution that is so exciting because it is simple and very effective.

What if I told you that you could treat your incontinence in 20 minutes, with near zero risk and no down time?  Sounds too good to be true, but a new treatment, called the O-Shot, can do just that.

The O-Shot is a medical procedure performed by specially trained doctors using Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP),  the fraction of the blood that contains growth factors.  PRP has been used to help professional athletes heal from orthopedic injuries by injecting it into joints. It has been used to help improve wound healing in surgical patients by injecting it into the incision site.  Over the past 10 years it has been used in hundreds of thousands of procedures around the world in various parts of the body with no reports of any serious complications.  Now we can use PRP to help women with incontinence.

Here's how it works.  We draw blood from your arm, and prepare the blood in a special centrifuge to extract the PRP (which contains the growth factors).  Then the PRP is injected into the vaginal wall and clitoris near the urethra.  Topical numbing cream  is used and the needle is very tiny so you feel little to no discomfort.  The growth factors stimulate stem cells in the area to regenerate tissues - including blood vessels, collagen and nerve fibers.

It takes approximately 20 minutes to draw your blood and prepare the PRP, and the injection takes approximately 5 minutes.  Once the procedure is over, you can resume regular activities with no down time. The tissue regeneration typically starts after 3 weeks and full effects will be noted in 3 months  There are no reported serious side effects, and while results will vary, initial reports indicate that most women have significant improvement if not resolution of their symptoms.  We are really excited about the results that we are achieving.  

The O-Shot has an added benefits for some women.   Many women note improvement in sexual function, including increased lubrication, sensation, and often a reduction in pain (for women who have discomfort during intercourse).

If you are interested in learning more about the O-Shot please contact us at 704-752-9346, or visit the website www.signaturewellness.org.