Urinary Incontinence Support Group

I had the mini arc surgery in conjunction with a vaginaly hysterectomy in July ,2008. Now, just over 2 years later, my incontinence is back and worse than before. Now I leak BIG TIME, but seems like I'm not even aware of it when it happens. Before I would pee myself some if I had the urge to go, now I discover it after the fact as it seems I have no sensation at the time it happens. Has anyone else had their mini arc surgery not 'Hold"?

Hi Lucy,

I am really sorry to hear about your experience with the mini arc. So many women come here looking for hope and hoping we have the answer! Unfortunately, I don't, and I've had no experience with the mini arc personally. (...which may be a good thing!)

We have had a number of women come and go from this site who have given a number of opinions on this surgery. It is unfortunate that with a forum such as this, most people who come here have problems. If their surgery was successful, they are generally not sitting in front of a computer monitor telling us about it; they are out livin' life! So, we seldom hear success stories here. (A few... not all are bad.)

You are the first that I am aware of who has had success early on only to have the surgery fail later. Some that have had the surgery with poor results usually know right away that it didn't work out. We have had an unfortunate woman who has had a severely botched surgery and has had nothing but complications from the start. But, like said, this is the first I have heard of a successful mini arc that did not hold up.

Have you been in contact with your doctor about this yet? Have they suggested any remedy? It would be beneficial to know if the arc "let loose" or if this is a complication due to nerve damage, or such, that was caused by the surgery. ...or, is it unrelated? Related, perhaps, to some other event, medication, or so on.

I don't know if anyone else will chime in on this one. I know of only one person currently posting that has had the mini arc and has so far been showing positive results.

~Mary

Well I know I went to my follow up, but I did miss my annual gyno exam. We were in the process of getting ready to move to another state. I've been in my new state for a year now, and finally ahve gotten around to making an appt with an ob/gyn. I will discuss this problem with her, but knowing how insurance companies work, or rather DON'T work, I'm disheartened by the very probable possibility that they wont' cover a second surgery for repair as they will probably say I "did too much too soon". I'm very afraid of that, I can't afford it on my own, hell I can't afford even the percentage that insurance won't cover, but I'm also so embarrassed and depressed at being back where I was before. It was a progressive situation, I thought when it was just a little bit of urge or stress incontinence that I would deal with it, but it's gotten much worse. Anyway, thanks for anyone who has any experience with any of this whether it be the surgery part or the insurance ramifications. Thanks for posting!

Mini arc is a procedure for stress urinary incontinence. It does not help with the leakage that comes without warning, or the type that occurs with urgency (or cannot get to the bathroom in time). If it has helped with the cough, sneeze leaks and that is what you had before the sling, then it was done for the right purpose. However, if it was placed in for urge or spontaneous unprovoked leakage then it was the wrong procedure for you to do as it would have never, nor should have, gotten you dry for this reason. Many patients are misinformed or do not understand what a sling is for and think ALL types of incontinece will be fixed with a sling. What you describe as your leakage before and after the mini arc is not stress incontinence, so again the mini arc was not designed for you. You are describing urgency or overactive bladder leakage (an unstable bladder)which is unprovoked by movement and movement of the urethra-such as with a cough, laugh, etc- is what is required for the mechanical kinking effect that the sling provides to be successful. I would suggest you see a physician that is skilled in the difference of the two types of leakage and can proactively help you become dry at this point.

I had both types of incontinence, and my ob/gyn told me it was mostly for my bladder prolapse, it was sagging to the point where he noticed it in my annual exam just as I was bringing up my incontinence problem. But it sure seems like it helped at first and now I"m back to where I was before. I will be bringing it up with my new ob/gyn and maybe she can refer me to a urologist

I had the mini arc surgery, probably for all of the wrong reasons because I didn't really have stress incontinence. I just had problems with slight leakage, a few drops, or once in a while more, but very rarely. Now I have no problems with leakage, but I limit my fluid intake. However, I have a very narrow stream when I do urinate and don't seem to be able to empty my bladder. When I went to a talk by a urologist on female urinary incontinence, he said he didn't recommend the mini arc because of its failure rate. Sure wish my surgeon had been a little more up front. Sadly, I got an infection within a week of the surgery due to the fact that an artery had been nicked and spent six days in the hospital with IV antibiotics, an attempt to drain the two absbcesses the size of a man's fist, and another surgery to clean things out and ultimately discover the "leak" and repair it. Thus, I would not recommend this surgery.

I am so sorry that the surgery was not as beneficial as you had first hoped. This is the first that I heard of the high failure rate of mini arc procedures, though we have had many come here to complain. That only confirms why is it so vitally important to KNOW the cause of our incontinence and be truthful with your surgeon before undergoing any procedure.

It is SO hard for us to admit we are not in control of our own bladder functions, and we are desperate to try ANYthing to make it better. We will even blame our conditions on things that sound more acceptable in order to hide our shame. For years, I hid behind childbirth as the cause, but stress incontinence is not my problem, urge incontinence is. The mini arc can do NOTHING for urge incontinence and that would could help account for the high failure rate of the surgery -- improper diagnosis.

In my case, my incontinence cleared up with brain surgery. When it returned, rather than face the fact that I was incontinent, I twisted the neurosurgeon's arm for another brain surgery! Is that not crazy?!!! But, we are desperate people and I fully understand your reasons for wanting to try the procedure.

I truly appreciate your willingness to share your story with us, and your disappointments with the outcome, to help others make more informed decisions. I hope you are able to experience some improvement for your present condition.

~Mary