The Incontinence Solution

Millions of women experience difficulties controlling their bladders but suffer in silence, reluctant to speak to their doctors -- or even to their best friends -- about the problem. Here, at last, women will find the most up-to-date medical explanations and state-of-the-art solutions, including: Controversial links between current childbirthing practices -- like episiotomy, the use of forceps, and long labor -- and the development of incontinence later in life. Advanced diagnostic tests that enable women to quickly find the most effective treatment. Nonsurgical treatments: pelvic muscle exercises and oral medications that really work. Surgical options featuring new minimally invasive outpatient procedures.

Dr. William H. Parker is a board certified OB/GYN and a Clinical Professor at the UCLA School of Medicine. He is the former Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center, and the immediate past President of the American Association of Laparoscopists. He is an editor for the Journal of the American Association of Gynecological Laparoscopists and a reviewer for the New England Journal of Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Journal of Gynecologic Techniques. He is also listed in Best Doctors in America and Top Doctors.

Contents Introduction

• Defining Incontinence
• How the Bladder Normally Works
• Diagnosing Incontinence
• Childbirth and Incontinence
• Treating Incontinence Without Surgery
• Treating Incontinence with Surgery
• Interstitial Cystitis (with Leslie Kaplan, M.D.)
• Defining and Diagnosing Prolapse (Pelvic Relaxation)
• Treating Prolapse Without Surgery
• Treating Prolapse with Surgery
• Anal Incontinence (with Tracy Childs, M.D.)
• Sexuality
• Finding the Right Doctor References Resources Index