Tampa General Hospital Performs New Procedure to Help Women with Stress Urinary Incontinence

Tampa General Hospital is the first in the West Florida Region to provide new treatment for this common condition, which affects more than 15 million women in the U.S.

Note: Tampa General has a patient available for interviews.

Tampa, FL (May 26, 2021) –Tampa General Hospital became the first health system in the West Florida Region on May 18 to perform a procedure using Bulkamid®, a hydrogel that restores the natural closing of the urethra to help women suffering from stress urinary incontinence.

The procedure was performed at Brandon Healthplex, the ambulatory surgery center owned by Tampa General, by Dr. Raviender Bukkapatnam, medical director of Urology at Tampa General.

“We are pleased to be able to offer a new procedure that has so much potential to improve the quality of life for so many of our patients,” Bukkapatnam said. “This procedure represents a new approach that may help women who were not helped by previous treatment options. This kind of thinking is another way Tampa General shows our commitment to become the safest and most innovative academic health system in America.”

About one in three women have stress urinary incontinence at some point in their lives according to the Urology Care Foundation. Childbirth is one of the main contributing causes of the condition.  It is caused by weakness in the pelvic floor, preventing the urethra from closing fully when sudden pressure is put on the bladder. This can allow urine to leak out during normal daily activities such as coughing, laughing, exercising or lifting an object.

Bulkamid is delivered using a syringe via a series of small injections into the urethral wall in a minimally invasive, office or outpatient facility procedure. Once it is injected, the volume of the gel adds bulk to the urethra, supporting the closing mechanism of the urethra and providing better control of urine.

A clinical study has shown that 75 percent of women reported improvement in their symptoms after treatment, with half of women having no incontinence episodes. Additional studies have shown that Bulkamid retains its characteristics for many years, providing long-lasting relief from symptoms.

The procedure is minimally invasive and takes about 10 or 15 minutes to perform. In most cases, the procedure is performed using a local anesthetic. Patients usually go home the same day and resume normal activities within 24 hours.

The FDA approved Bulkamid in early 2020, but the treatment has been used in other countries for 10 years and has been used to treat over 70,000 women in that time. Bulkamid is sold by Axonics Inc., a medical technology company based in Irvine, Calif.

ABOUT TAMPA GENERAL HOSPITAL
Tampa General Hospital, a 1007-bed non-profit academic medical center, is one of the largest hospitals in America and delivers world-class care as the region’s only center for Level l trauma and comprehensive burn care. Tampa General Hospital is the highest-ranked hospital in the market in U.S. News & World Report’s 2020-21 Best Hospitals, and one of the top four hospitals in Florida, with five specialties ranking among the best programs in the United States. It is one of the nation’s busiest adult solid organ transplant centers and is the primary teaching hospital for the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. With five medical helicopters, Tampa General Hospital transports critically injured or ill patients from 23 surrounding counties to receive the advanced care they need. Tampa General houses a nationally accredited comprehensive stroke center and its 32-bed Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit is the largest on the West Coast of Florida. It also is home to the Jennifer Leigh Muma 82-bed Level IV neonatal intensive care unit, and a nationally accredited rehabilitation center. Tampa General Hospital’s footprint includes 17 Tampa General Medical Group Primary Care offices, TGH Family Care Center Kennedy, TGH Brandon Healthplex, TGH Virtual Health and 19 outpatient Radiology Centers. Tampa Bay residents also receive world-class care from the TGH Urgent Care powered by Fast Track network of clinics, and they can even receive home visits in select areas through TGH Urgent Care at Home, powered by Fast Track. As one of the largest hospitals in the country, Tampa General Hospital is first in Florida to partner with GE Healthcare and open a clinical command center that uses artificial intelligence and predictive analytics to improve and better coordinate patient care at a lower cost. For more information, go to www.tgh.org.