The Center for Women's Continence and Pelvic Health treats many incontinence conditions common to women. Often, these conditions interfere with a woman's quality of life and require medical or surgical intervention. The expert physicians at Cedars-Sinai are trained to provide high quality care.

Some conditions treated at the center are:

• Stress urinary incontinence: Stress urinary incontinence is an involuntary discharge of urine that occurs during exercise or other physical activity, coughing, laughing or sneezing. Treatment focuses on strengthening the urethral sphincter to better help control urination. Sling procedures (a minor vaginal surgery) are very effective for treating stress urinary incontinence.
• Pelvic organ prolapse: Prolapse is the falling down or slipping of a body part from its usual position. When prolapse occurs in the pelvis, it is referred to as pelvic organ prolapse of which there are several types: cystocele (the bladder), rectocele (the rectum or large bowel), enterocele (the small bowel), uterine (the urethra) and vaginal (the uterus). Prolapse may also occur in the "vaginal vault," an area at the top of the vagina. Treatment includes the use of pessaries or various surgical options including laparoscopic or vaginal reconstructive operative procedures.
• Overactive bladder: When a patient experiences an unstoppable urge to urinate, it is generally referred to as an overactive bladder. The condition is not a normal part of aging and there are behavioral, pharmaceutical and rehabilitative therapies that have proven successful in treating the condition. In refractory cases the sacral Nerve Implant is a proven effective treatment.
• Pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD)(Levator muscle spasm): The Levator muscle supports the rectum and when it goes into spasm (an involuntary and abnormal contraction of muscle), it can be extremely painful. Treatment usually involves physical therapy, lifestyle changes, muscle relaxant medications, and other non-invasive methods for relieving the spasm. The sacral nerve implant is useful for voiding dysfunction associated with PFD.
• Voiding dysfunction: Voiding (to eliminate solid or liquid waste from the body) dysfunction describes both the inability to hold or control urination as well as the inability to completely empty the bladder, or both. Once the underlying cause of the dysfunction is identified, appropriate treatment measures can be taken.
• Fistulas: A fistula is a hole or pathway between two organs of the body or an organ and skin. Genitourinary fistulae are found between the vagina and the urinary tract; rectovaginal fistulae are found between the rectum and the vagina. Generally painless, fistulae let urine or feces pass between the organs causing embarrassing soiling problems or foul-smelling discharge or gas coming from the vagina.
• Interstitial cystitis (painful bladder syndrome)(IC/PBS): Patients often have symptoms of urinary tract infections but with negative cultures or minimal improvement with antibiotics. The symptoms include urinary frequency and suprapubic pain. Treatment for IC/PBS may include neuromodulator drugs such as gabapentin or nortriptyline (pain killers) as well as pelvic floor physical therapy. IC/PBS can also be associated with vulvodynia or pain in the vulvar area.
• Recurrent urinary infections: This is extremely common in women due to a urethra (the canal carries off the urine from the bladder) of only three centimeters in length and its proximity to the vagina and rectum. Urinary infections are usually treated with either prophylactic antibiotics or vaginal hormones in post menopausal women. The diagnosis procedures may include a cystoscopy and renal ultrasound or a computed tomography (CT) scan to exclude other causes.
• Fecal incontinence: This is the leakage of stool from the anus which can be very disturbing to patients. The cause of fecal incontinence may be anatomic (torn sphincter muscle) and neurologic. A treatment plan is developed based on the etiology (cause) of the problem and may include dietary management, use of medications, biofeedback, surgery and other modalities.