What Is a Sacral Nerve Stimulator Implant?

With daily activities that people take for granted, if you suffer from chronic constipation or only have temporary control over your bowels, the resulting frustration is both infuriating and demeaning. From going out for an evening with friends to working out at the gym or sitting through a long meeting, all become painful tasks on this trek that is life for those of us afflicted by these embarrassing conditions. If diet modification, laxatives and other methods have failed, the doctor may suggest sacral nerve stimulation. The title of the implant is quite complicated; the idea is simple: a small device helps your muscles and nerves function normally. For someone else, it is life and hope all over again. If you have an idea of what the implants are, how they work, and what’s involved in the surgery process this article can help put your mind at ease about whether or not it is right for you.

What is This Sacral Nerve Stimulator Implant?

A sacral nerve stimulator implant is a small device that’s placed under your skin in your upper buttock or lower back. It’s frequently compared to a pacemaker, but a pacemaker is good for your heart and this is good for bowel control. The implant is connected to thin wires, or leads, that run close to the sacral nerves in your lower back. These nerves do the job of allowing the brain to send signals to those muscles that manage the bowel.

When turned on, it delivers low-level electrical pulses to nerves. The impulses “reset” the communication lines so that the bowel and pelvic floor muscles can work together. For those who have suffered for years, the implant can be salvation that no other treatment has been able to provide.

How Does It Work?

Implantation of the sacral nerve stimulator achieves this by re-educating messages that travel between the brain and nerves controlling bowel function. Constipation may also occur on an intermittent basis, as muscles in the floor of the pelvis do not relax when they are supposed to. Otherwise, the stool just isn’t moving through the colon fast enough because of abnormal nerve communication. The implant sidesteps these signal hiccups with short jolts of energy.

Typically the patients describe a tapping sensation or slight ache but not pain. Eventually, the stimulation will build up enough that your body starts to become more efficient at evacuating stool and you’ll evacuate stool more frequently and with less effort. It has been demonstrated to assist increase control over your bowels and decrease accidents in fecal incontinence patients.

What Conditions Can It Treat?

Non-responders of CCS and SNM) Patients with chronic constipation or faecal incontinence) The implantation of the stimulator is mostly done by physicians. It is used when conservative treatment of such measures as dietary fiber, medications and biofeedback is not successful. Many patients with PFD also respond to this treatment.

If you’ve been experimenting with remedies and haven’t produced results, it’s possible that the sacral nerve stimulator implant could be your next best options for discussing with a colorectal specialist. It can be particularly useful for patients who feel “stuck” and are seeking a resolution that results in long-term changes.

How Is an Implant Placed?

Getting a sacral nerve stimulator: The first step to having a sacral nerve stimulator implanted is testing it out. Right now your doctor will insert a ‘temporary’ wire near the sacral nerves. The wire connects to a stimulator outside your body that you will wear. While you’re at it, since you will be using this thing for a while, say a week or two for example, go ahead and record your symptoms too. The point is to determine if stimulation actually makes a difference.

If you experience improvements in bowel control or movement during the trial, it will confirm that you’re a candidate for the permanent implant. For this outpatient procedure, which can involve a local anesthetic, the stimulator is placed just under the skin on your butt or lower back and the temporary wire replaced with one that’s permanent. Your doctor will program and fine-tune the device to work with your body as the leads are implanted.

How Is Recovery?

The rebound time from the trial is short. The majority of patients are sent home the same day and feel only minor discomfort in the area where the wire was inserted. Sacral nerve stimulation recovery time is also not bad as far as the permanent implant goes. And you also may have a little soreness or swelling around the incision site for approximately one week — though that too is likely to subside rapidly. You may return to other light activities in a few days, but heavy lifting or vigorous exercise will have to wait until your doctor gives you the go-ahead.

Most patients are almost normal after two to three weeks. Post-surgical visits are part of the plan to track and make sure that an implant is healing properly and that it works.

What Is the Success Rate of a Sacral Nerve Stimulator Implant?

Patient follow-ups and studies show that the vast majority of patients have had significant improvement in symptoms post-implant. While some patients tend to respond partially during the trial phase, others demonstrate an overall improvement following weeks of consistent implantation.

Reduction is effective for years and physicians may reinitiate programming of the device as needed in order to attain optimal benefit. The implant battery will require replacement at some time, a simple operation. For those who have suffered these conditions for years, long-term relief can seem nothing short of miraculous.

What Is Life With the Implant Like?

Most patients cannot even really feel the implant as they recover. It’s small and discreet, it doesn’t rub or chafe at any clothing you are wearing, or get in the way of your daily routines. Patients are able to return to work, exercise, social events without fearing bowel problems. Qualified monitoring can ensure the system work as it should and provide regular maintenance.

Perhaps the greatest benefit is psychological — the freedom from needing to constantly plan around and worry over constipation or bowel accidents. That kind of freedom often makes the journey well worth it.

Why You Might See a Specialist?

While it’s a great thing that you looked up sacral nerve stimulation yourself, the only person who can decide if this is an adequate treatment for you right now is someone trained to diagnose and treat urinary symptoms. A pelvic or colorectal surgeon will evaluate your symptoms, explain the risks and benefits and carry out your trial and permanent implant procedure with you. If you are experiencing constipation or bowel incontinence and not responding to treatment the way you should, a visit with a specialist may be the start of getting some welcome relief.

Conclusion

A sacral nerve stimulator implantation is a small pacemaker-like device that promotes better communication between the brain, sacral nerves and the muscles in the bowel. It delivers low-level, gentle stimulating electrical impulses to the sacral nerve that stimulate bowel movement in chronic constipation and fecal incontinence patients. It’s a quick test, an implant and a minor recovery. Most people get lifetime, life-altering results. If you are already suffering for so long after all of that other treatment, don’t wait—get in to see a specialist and find out if the implantation of a sacral nerve stimulator can finally give you the relief you’ve been hoping for.