Suburethral Myoplasty

Abstract

Suburethral myoplasty, a surgical technique for reversing female urinary incontinence, "approaches the problem of repair from both the mechanical and functional or physiological angles," according to Dr. Joseph Fischmann of Boston, who spoke at the AMA Annual Meeting. Basically, the technique consists of slinging the pubococcygeus, and bulbo- and ischio-cavernosus muscles against and partly around the urethra, which mechanically helps to keep the urethra closed; moreover, their relaxation helps open the bladder for micturition, Fischmann said. In addition, kinking the urethra upward is an important aspect of the method. Using suburethral myoplasty on eight patients, ranging in age from 15 to 81, he has obtained "very satisfactory results" on all. Reviewing the anatomy of female micturition, Fischmann cited the lack of a so-called external sphincter as one of the reasons that true incontinence occurs so much more frequently in the female. Furthermore, "laxity and weakness of the female pelvic floor