Rechargeable Neurostimulation Device now available at LewisGale Hospital Montgomery

BLACKSBURG, VA.  —  LewisGale Hospital Montgomery is now offering a rechargeable sacral neuromodulation (SNM) device that provides a long-lasting and clinically proven solution for patients suffering with overactive bladder, bowel incontinence, and urinary retention.  Today, millions of people worldwide suffer from these chronic and debilitating symptoms.

The new rechargeable device offers a long-lived miniaturized neurostimulator that is approximately the size of a quarter and lasts 20+ years in the body, eliminating the need for repeat surgeries over the patient’s lifetime. Previously, patients would have to charge their device every three to four weeks, but the new generation neurostimulator needs to be charged every six to ten months. This decreases the additional burden on patients and allows them to spend more time on the things they love to do.

The minimally invasive procedure provides gentle stimulation to the nerves that communicate between the brain, bladder, and bowel. This advanced therapy restores normal communication, which can result in symptom improvement.

“With its expected lifetime of 20 years or more, easy-to-charge battery, and simple remote control that requires minimal human intervention, this new device is providing consistent therapy while simultaneously reducing patient concerns,” said Tamera Howell, MD, who specializes in gynecology and urogynecology at LewisGale Physicians in Blacksburg.

Dr. Howell is the first physician in Southwest Virginia to offer the new device and performs the implant procedure on an outpatient basis at LewisGale Hospital Montgomery. She provides in-office consultations in Blacksburg, Radford, and Salem. The device is also used for bowel incontinence by Thadeus Dapash, DO, a LewisGale Physician gastroenterologist, also located in Blacksburg.