Fletcher Allen is Vermont's university medical center. Located in Burlington, Vermont, Fletcher Allen is a 500-bed tertiary care center and teaching hospital in alliance with the University of Vermont.
Services
Types of Incontinence
What is Incontinence?
Incontinence is the inability to control the passage of urine or stool. It is currently estimated that 20 million Americans suffer with involuntary loss of bladder control (urinary incontinence) and that many of these people also have problems with bowel control (rectal incontinence).
Urinary Incontinence
Stress incontinence
Stress incontinence refers to accidental leakage of urine brought on by physical activities such as sneezing, laughing, coughing or exercise. Stress incontinence affects over 15 million Americans, almost 85 percent of whom are women between the ages of 30 and 59.
Urge incontinence
Often associated with symptoms of urinary frequency, and frequent nighttime voids,
urge incontinence is urinary leakage associated with a sudden overpowering desire to urinate. Patients with this problem often “map out” bathrooms all over town; the fear of not being able to get to a toilet fast enough results in feelings of anxiety in new situations. The combination of urinary frequency, urgency, nighttime voiding and urge incontinence are referred to as “overactive bladder.”
Mixed incontinence
Many patients suffer from a mixture of both stress and urge incontinence, or “mixed incontinence.” If you suffer from this condition, you generally will leak both with and without activity. You may be very wet, requiring the use of multiple pads per day.
Overflow incontinence
Overflow incontinence may occur when the bladder does not empty properly due to obstruction of flow (as can occur with an enlarged prostate), or from a weakened bladder muscle. Over time, the amount of urine in the bladder builds up and exceeds the capacity of the bladder, causing leakage.
Rectal Incontinence
Rectal incontinence is the loss of normal control of the bowels. This leads to stool leaking from the rectum (the last part of the large intestine) unexpectedly. It affects as many as 1 million Americans, particularly the aged, and is more frequent in women. It can be a minor problem when it is limited to occasional soiling of the underwear, or a considerable problem with loss of bowel control, leading to restriction of the patient’s daily activities. Fear of soiling can be socially isolating.
Passive rectal incontinence is the unnoticed loss of feces, or soiling. This can include the loss of minimal stool that is retained in the anal canal after normal defecation, and also nighttime incontinence. Urge rectal incontinence is when a patient has warning symptoms before they lose fecal material.
Pelvic Support Problems
Pelvic support problems affect women exclusively, in the urethra and bladder, the small intestine, the rectum, the uterus, and the vagina. When the supporting tissues of these pelvic organs are stretched or damaged, the organ may drop down and press against the wall of the vagina. The symptoms of pelvic support problems depend on which organs are involved. The result may be minor discomfort or major problems in the way the organs work. Some symptoms include a feeling of pelvic heaviness or fullness, or as if something is “falling out” of the vagina (prolapse); a pulling or aching feeling in the lower abdomen, groin, or lower back; and leakage of urine or problems having a bowel movement.
Treatments
Our team of specialists are trained in a variety of approaches to incontinence. Together, we help patients with a variety of bladder and pelvic floor disorders, including incontinence, urinary retention, pelvic prolapse and dysfunctional voiding. 
We are accustomed to treating patients for whom previous therapies have not been successful. Our patients include people who have had prior surgery or radiation, as well as those with neurologic disorders such as Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s Disease, stroke and spinal cord injuries.
No two patients are alike, and each patient’s treatment plan reflects our focus on
individualized care. From initial consultation through diagnosis to treatment, we are committed to making each patient’s experience with us as comfortable, efficient, and effective as possible. Our goal is to provide diagnostic and therapeutic options tailored to the patient’s problem, and to enable patients to make informed decisions about their care.
To ensure that each patient receives the proper diagnosis, we utilize the latest technology, such as advanced urodynamics. Urodynamic testing gives us a window into the precise physiologic cause of a bladder control problem. Providing this technology at our on-site testing facility allows us to deliver faster results and get patients started on the proper treatment regimen as soon as possible.
Today there are many effective treatments available for regaining bladder or
bowel control and resolving pelvic support problems.
We offer a wide range of on-site treatments and therapies, including:
- Self-help and behavioral solutions
- Medical and minimally invasive solutions
- Surgical and reconstructive solutions
After a precise diagnosis is established, we can tailor therapy to a patient’s individual needs, arriving at an improvement or cure in the shortest possible period of time.