[Detrusor myectomy (autoaugmentation) in the treatment of hyper-reflexive low compliance bladder]

[Neurogenic urinary incontinence. Value of surgical management]

Damage to the CNS, the cauda equina, and the pelvic nerval structures causes neurogenic bladder dysfunction with neurogenic urinary incontinence (NUI). The definitive diagnosis of NUI is made with urodynamic examination methods. The most frequent cause of NUI is neurogenic detrusor overactivity (NDO). The treatment concept must take into account the physical and emotional restrictions. The treatment of NUI due to NDO is a domain of conservative therapy, i.e., mostly antimuscarinics and intermittent catheterization (IC). In about 30%, there is a good chance for therapy failures. An advancement in therapy is the injection of BTX-A into the detrusor. The missing drug approval is a disadvantage.Operative treatments are considered if conservative and minimally invasive therapies are unsuccessful. Sacral deafferentation (SDAF) and sacral anterior root stimulator implantation (SARSI) are available as organ-preserving techniques only for paraplegics with NDO and reflex urinary incontinence and neuromodulation for the other forms of NDO provided that a successful percutaneous nerve evaluation (PNE) test has previously taken place. Augmentation cystoplasty is indicated if SDAF and neuromodulation cannot be used and the bladder wall is damaged irreversibly by fibrosis. Kidney function of at least 25% and acceptance of IC are prerequisites. Myectomy (autoaugmentation) has an indication similar to augmentation cystoplasty but there must not be any fibrosis. Bladder neck insufficiency (BNI) caused by paralysis or iatrogenically can be treated by the implantation of an alloplastic sphincter high at the bladder neck. A stable reservoir function is required. If not all methods are possible, the ileum conduit or the suprapubic bladder fistula can be the last resort.

Surgical management of overactive bladder

The majority of patients with overactive bladder (OAB) can be managed with office-based techniques. When medical therapy fails as treatment for OAB, surgical intervention ranging from electric stimulation administered in the office to extensive procedures, such as augmentation or urinary diversion, may be needed. Any surgical intervention should be tailored to the patient with consideration of the degree of his or her discomfort, underlying pathology, general health, and obviously, the patient's own motivation.

Neurogenic bladder dysfunction

Urodynamics are still essential for diagnosis and prognosis of neurogenic lower urinary tract-dysfunction and can not be replaced by other means of investigation so far, neither by a thorough clinical investigation nor by sophisticated means like magnetic resonance imaging. The findings with clinical investigations are specific, but not sensitive enough, and the spinal cord lesions may sometimes be beyond the resolution of magnetic resonance-scanning. Pharmacotherapy is still the corner stone in the management of detrusor hyperreflexia. Further studies with tolterodine, oxybutynin, trospiumchloride and propiverine have increased our knowledge about these substances. Capsaicin was proved to be the effective substance and not the alcoholic solution, which serves as a carrier. Intrathecal clonidine may represent a new conservative reversible alternative treatment for detrusor hyperreflexia. Experiments with detrusor strips from end-stage MMC-patients may explain the relative resistance of the low compliant bladder to the common anticholinergic/spasmolytic therapy. The differential indication for bladder augmentation, either using segments of the gastrointestinal-tract or performing a partial detrusor myectomy is ongoing, favourable results are reported for both techniques. Sacral posterior root rhizotomy is able to abolish detrusor hyperreflexia and therefore recommended for tetra- and paraplegics, however autonomic dysreflexia, if present, can not be totally abolished. Collagen injections for neuropathic sphincter incompetence can not be recommended as demonstrated in children with congenital neuropathy, a new design of an artificial sphincter must stand the test of time.