SUBJECTIVE AND OBJECTIVE EFFECTS OF INTRAVAGINAL ELECTRICAL MYOSTIMULATION AND BIOFEEDBACK IN PATIENTS WITH GENUINE STRESS URINARY-INCONTINENCE

A group of 36 patients (18 premenopausal and 18 postmenopausal), all suffering from genuine stress urinary incontinence, underwent conservative treatment with 6 sessions of intravaginal electromyostimulation followed by 6 sessions of biofeedback; 89% of patients reported an improvement, 5.5% considered themselves cured and 5.5% reported no change. Intravaginal pressure measured before and after therapy increased by an average of 11 cm H2O in premenopausal patients and 17 cm H2O in the postmenopausal group. Intravaginal pressure increased in all patients and, according to maximal urethral closure pressure, this increasing intravaginal pressure was observed even in patients with low pressure urethras. The urodynamic factors studied were functional length, maximum urethral closing pressure and pressure transmission, together with urethral surface at rest and during stress, and residual surface. No significant changes were noted before and after treatment. The excellent subjective results contrast with the absence of improvement in these values.