Abstract: FRI-08
Sources of Funding: None

Introduction

Male urinary incontinence has been described from antiquity and various techniques have evolved to treat this disorder.

Methods

A literature review of PubMed articles in English pertaining to male incontinence was performed to compile a historical perspective of the treatment of male incontinence.

Results

Male urinary incontinence was first mentioned in Egyptian manuscripts in 1500 B.C., where papyrus leaves were used &[Prime]to remove constant running of the urine.&[Prime] In 1564, French surgeon Ambroise Pare described one of the first portable urinals for incontinent males. German surgeon Wilhem Hildanus created the first condom catheter with pig bladder in the 1600s and was also credited with creating the first penile clamp; however, it was not popularized until 1980 as the &[Prime]Cunningham clamp.&[Prime] German anatomist and surgeon Lorenz Heister introduced a perineal bulbar urethral compression belt in 1747 which provided the blueprint for air-inflated bulbar urethral compression devices such as the one designed by British physician S.A. Vincent in 1960. Meanwhile, Austrian surgeon Robert Gersuny took his experience with paraffin in plastic surgery and adapted it to urologic care to perform the first periurethral paraffin injection as bulking therapy. Americans entered the field in 1929 when urologist Frederic Foley introduced the modern catheter, which was adopted for management of retention and incontinence. Foley is credited with creation of the first artificial urinary sphincter; however, his version was worn around a surgically isolated segment of the corporal spongiosum. From 1970-73, American urologist Joseph Kaufman described multiple crural crossover procedures which provided surgically created bulbar compression for post-prostatectomy incontinence, but not before designing the first male sling with partner John L. Berry in 1958. The gold standard therapy for male incontinence did not appear until 1973 when American urologist F. Brantley Scott described the first multi-component artificial inflatable sphincter. Improvements upon minimally invasive intraurethral bulking therapy occurred rapidly with Teflon (1973), collagen (1989), autologous adipose tissue (1989) and cross-linked silicone gels (1991). Finally, stem cell therapy has emerged since 2007 to promote regeneration of functional components for adequate urethral coaptation.

Conclusions

Treatment for male urinary incontinence has evolved from noninvasive devices to various surgical procedures, both endoscopic and reconstructive. Artificial sphincters remain the gold-standard therapy for male urinary incontinence.

Funding

None