NEW TREATMENTS FOR FEMALE INCONTINENCE
Breaking the Taboo

Denise, a resident of Wayne, had suffered from incontinence for 23 years, since the birth of her first child. Every day of her life, she wore a protective pad to catch the uncontrollable leak of urine.

That was until she was treated by Dr. Labib E. Riachi at Trinitas Hospital, Elizabeth, through a revolutionary treatment that involves only minimally invasive surgery (known as TVT-O for tension free vaginal tape without sling-obturator), which is done through the vagina. Now, she and many others like her, would like to as many women as possible to know of the successful treatment for what had been an embarrassing problem.

Denise and more than 50 other women attended a recent gathering in Elizabeth to share their experiences and the improvements the surgery had made to their lives.

"This changed my life and I am not saying that lightly," Denise said. Before the surgery, uncontrollable urinary leaks occurred when she lifted objects, including such mundane things as grocery bags. For other women, every laugh can be a potential problem. Women have lived for years always needing to know where the nearest bathroom was, being unable to lift their children or grandchildren without fear of a leak, or being afraid every laugh would create an embarrassment.

"This is a very common problem, but women do not talk about it," said Brenda during the same gathering.

Dr. Riachi hopes to help break that embarrassment and the taboo against talking about this common problem. He has studied with ground-breaking physicians in France and Belgium, who have lead the way in minimally invasive surgery to correct incontinence from stress and other causes.

"The condition can be devastating socially," Dr. Riachi said. "Many women are afraid to face it and they live with it for years. We want to make them aware this is not something they have to live with. There are many treatment techniques available, including minimally invasive surgery."

Dr. Riachi was one of the first on the East Coast to perform the technique, which is done through the vagina under local or regional anesthesia. He has traveled to the Middle East to teach in hospitals in Lebanon, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, where there is even more of a taboo against talking about women’s personal problems than in the United States. Dr. Riachi has taught the technique to more than 100 doctors in the United States so that the revolutionary technique can be brought to more women.

The surgery involves placing a tape through a one centimeter incision under the urethra, a procedure developed in Belgium. Because it involves only a tiny incision, recovery is much faster. Since it requires only local or regional anesthesia, the technique is available to older women who would not be able to undergo general anesthesia. Patients can return home the same day.

"This is revolutionary," Dr. Riachi said. "We want to spread the training of this to as many physicians as possible, and we want women to know about the treatment and to know they can talk about the problem. We also have good news coming in September when we will be able to perform a spin off of this technique in the doctor’s office."

Dr. Labib Edison Riachi is in private practice and associated with Trinitas Hospital, Elizabeth. He is a specialist in advanced pelvic surgery and female urinary incontinence and minimally invasive surgery in these areas.

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Posted: August 6, 2006

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