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Stress Urinary Incontinence

Relief from leaks is possible

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Are you living with Stress Urinary Incontinence?

Approximately 78 million women in the U.S. suffer from urinary incontinence1 and of those, over 37% had Stress Urinary Incontinence (SUI).

The muscles in your urethra work like a valve, opening and closing as needed to let urine out. But with stress urinary incontinence, also called SUI, the pelvic muscles that normally support the bladder and the urethra are weakened.

When this happens, urine leaks out of the bladder and can leave you feeling embarrassed, frustrated and unsure of what is happening to you.

Symptoms of stress urinary incontinence

Do you leak during any of the following activities?:

  • Laughing
  • Coughing
  • Sneezing
  • Heavy lifting
  • Physical activity
  • Sex

If you can say “yes” to one or more, you should talk to a doctor who is familiar with SUI and discuss a more permanent solution for treating urine leakage.

Other types of incontinence

Learn more about SUI

Find your path to incontinence relief

No two people walk the same path to a diagnosis or a solution. Every woman’s experience with stress urinary incontinence (SUI) is different, and they may reach these steps at different paces and during different stages in their lives.

Do I have SUI?

What are the signs and symptoms you’ve been experiencing?

Why did they start?
Causes of SUI

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What are my options?

There are different ways you can approach managing your symptoms.
Learn about your choices

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Selecting the right kind of doctor

The right doctor will listen to you and put your needs first. But how do you find them?

Finding the right provider

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Is a surgical procedure right for me?

Learn more about stopping symptoms at the source.

Find out about Altis

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Preparing for surgery

What to know leading up to your procedure, how to prepare and plan.

Getting ready

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What to expect after surgery

Find out more about post-op downtime and what to expect after heading home.

Healing and heading home

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What causes SUI?

SUI can slowly develop as you age and may also be the result of a specific event such as childbirth, or be a result of smoking, obesity or other previous tissue traumas in the area.2

Learn more about SUI causes

What are your treatment options?

You name it, you’ve tried it. From pads, diapers, special underwear and Kegels – some of it helps, but doesn’t relieve the burden of SUI. You deserve a treatment that addresses the source of the problem, not something that just provides a temporary fix for symptoms.

Learn more about a lasting solution for SUI below.

Avoiding and covering up leaks only adds to the burden of having SUI in the first place. A lasting solution, with minimal downtime, can help relieve the added burden of constantly hiding your SUI symptoms.

Luckily, there’s Altis® Single Incision Sling.

Introducing Altis®

Women experiencing SUI deserve a clinically proven, effective solution. Altis is a treatment backed by clinical studies with firsthand testimonials from women who’ve had the procedure with successful outcomes.

Altis is a sling that treats stress urinary incontinence by supporting the urethra to keep it in its correct position.3 The procedure is a minimally invasive4 outpatient surgery.3

Learn more about Altis

Patient spotlight

Here’s how Altis worked for Julie

Learn more about her SUI journey

What have others experienced?

0 %

saw a median reduction in pad weight5

0 %

reported feeling “very much better” or “much better” improvements after their surgery at 24 months5

0 %

reported no urine leakage related to SUI at 24-months post procedure5

Where should you start?

About Altis

read more

Find the right doctor

read more

FAQs

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Important safety information

Altis® Single Incision Sling System
Important Safety Information

Stress urinary incontinence is a condition in which urine involuntarily leaks at times of increased pressure on the bladder (e.g., coughing, sneezing, laughing, lifting heavy objects, exercise). Stress urinary incontinence can be treated with a surgical procedure in which a mesh sling is implanted to act as a “hammock” to support the urethra, the tube that connects to the bladder that carries urine outside the body. An incontinence sling surgery involves anesthesia and may require an overnight hospital stay.

The Altis Single Incision Sling System is indicated for the treatment of female stress urinary incontinence (SUI) resulting from the urethra not closing properly (urethral hypermobility) and/or weakness of the urethral sphincter (intrinsic sphincter deficiency (ISD)).

Your physician should advise that the Altis Single Incision Sling System is not for females who have the following: are pregnant or have desire for future pregnancy • potential for further growth (e.g., adolescents) • known active urinary tract infection and/or infection in operative field • taking blood thinning medication (anti-coagulant therapy) • abnormal urethra (e.g., fistula, diverticulum) • any condition, including known or suspected pelvic pathology, which could compromise implant or implant placement, and • sensitivity/allergy to polypropylene or polyurethane.

Discuss with your physician:

  • The reason for choosing a mesh sling including the warnings, precautions and risks associated with its use
  • Alternative incontinence treatments that may be appropriate
  • The Altis sling to be implanted is permanent
  • Serious mesh associated complications may result in one or more revision surgeries
  • Partial or complete removal of the mesh may not always be possible or advisable as it may not fully correct these complications
  • New onset (de novo) complications and recurring or worsening SUI can occur
  • There may be unresolved pain with or without mesh explant and varying degrees of scarring may occur
  • Certain underlying conditions may be more susceptible to postoperative bleeding, impaired blood supply, compromised/delayed healing, mesh sling exposure or other complications

Potential additional risks versus benefits of using Altis should be considered in patients with one or more of the following: age-related underlying conditions • autoimmune disease • coagulation disorder • connective tissue disorder • debilitated or immunocompromised state • diabetes • pelvic radiation therapy or chemotherapy • physical characteristics (e.g., body mass index) • renal insufficiency • smoking-related underlying conditions, or • urinary tract anomalies.

Any future pregnancy could negate the benefits of this surgical procedure. Patients should report bleeding, pain, abnormal vaginal discharge or signs of infection at any time.

Complications are known to occur and may be immediate or delayed, localized or systemic, new onset (de novo) or worsening, acute or chronic, transient or permanent, new onset (de novo) or continuing, worsening, transient, or permanent.

Potential complications may include but are not limited to:

  • Abnormal vaginal discharge
  • Abscess
  • Adhesion
  • Allergic reaction, hypersensitivity, or abnormal (maladaptive) immune response
  • Bladder symptoms (e.g., increased daytime frequency, urgency, nocturia (urinating more than once per night), overactive bladder, urinary incontinence)
  • Bleeding/hemorrhage or hematoma
  • Delayed/impaired/abnormal wound healing
  • Dyspareunia (painful intercourse)
  • Exposure, extrusion or erosion of mesh sling or suture into the vagina or other structures and organs
  • Fistula formation (abnormal connection or passageway that forms between two structures in the body)
  • Granuloma (small area of inflammation)/scar tissue formation
  • Hispareunia (male partner pain with intercourse)
  • Infection
  • Inflammation/irritation
  • Necrosis (tissue death)
  • Neuromuscular disorder
  • Pain
  • Palpable mesh (able to be felt by patient and/or partner)
  • Pelvic/urogenital pain
  • Perforation or injury to adjacent muscles, nerves, vessels, structures, or organs (e.g., bone, bladder, urethra, ureters, bowel, vagina)
  • Scarring
  • Seroma (fluid buildup at site of surgery)
  • Sexual dysfunction
  • Sling migration (movement)
  • Suture exposure
  • Ureteral obstruction
  • Urinary tract infection
  • Vaginal tightening/shortening
  • Voiding symptoms (e.g., dysuria (painful urination), urinary retention, incomplete emptying, bladder outlet obstruction, straining, position-dependent voiding, slow stream)
  • Wound dehiscence (re-opening of surgical incision)

This treatment is prescribed by your physician. Discuss the treatment options with your physician to understand the risks and benefits of the various options to determine if a mesh sling is right for you.

Caution: Federal law (USA) restricts this device to sale by or on the order of a physician.

Minneapolis, MN
PM-03328 02/2024

References:

  1. Patel, U. J., Godecker, A. L., Giles, D. L., & Brown, H. W. (2022). Updated Prevalence of Urinary Incontinence in Women: 2015-2018 National Population-Based Survey Data. Female pelvic medicine & reconstructive surgery, 28(4), 181–187. https://doi.org/10.1097/SPV.0000000000001127
  2. Abrams, P., Andersson, K. E., Apostolidis, A., Birder, L., Bliss, D., Brubaker, L., Cardozo, L., Castro-Diaz, D., O’Connell, P. R., Cottenden, A., Cotterill, N., de Ridder, D., Dmochowski, R., Dumoulin, C., Fader, M., Fry, C., Goldman, H., Hanno, P., Homma, Y., Khullar, V., … members of the committees (2018). 6th International Consultation on Incontinence. Recommendations of the International Scientific Committee: EVALUATION AND TREATMENT OF URINARY INCONTINENCE, PELVIC ORGAN PROLAPSE AND FAECAL INCONTINENCE. Neurourology and urodynamics, 37(7), 2271–2272. https://doi.org/10.1002/nau.23551
  3. Surgery for stress urinary incontinence. ACOG. (n.d.). Retrieved December 2, 2022, from https://www.acog.org/Patients/FAQs/Surgery-for-Stress-Urinary-Incontinence
  4. Data on file with Coloplast.
  5. Kocjancic, E., Erickson, T., Tu, L. M., Gheiler, E., & Van Drie, D. (2017). Two-year outcomes for the Altis® adjustable single incision sling system for treatment of stress urinary incontinence. Neurourology and urodynamics, 36(6), 1582–1587. https://doi.org/10.1002/nau.23156