THE ARTIFICIAL URINARY SPHINCTER - A NEW SOLUTION FOR INCONTINENT PATIENTS

Treatment of urinary incontinence with the artificial urinary sphincte r has been available in centres such as London and Liverpool for a num ber of years. This service is now available in the department of urolo gy of the Belfast City Hospital. Twelve patients have had successful i mplantation of an artificial urinary sphincter for urinary incontinenc e, and ten are now fully continent. One patient with Wegener's granulo matosis developed active disease in his urethra which has precluded ac tivation of the device. One patient has had the device removed because of erosion into the urethra.