THE ARTIFICIAL URINARY SPHINCTER (AS-800) - EXPERIENCE IN 166 CONSECUTIVE PATIENTS

The artificial urinary sphincter model AS 800 was implanted in 166 patients with incontinence of various etiologies. Followup ranged from 6 to 94 months, with a mean of 41.6 months. Patient age ranged from 5 to 84 years, with a mean age of 59.4 years. There were 10 female patients (6%) and 156 male patients (94%). The cuff was implanted around the bladder neck in 27 patients (16%) and around the bulbous urethra in 139 (84%). A total of 40 reoperations (27 revisions and 13 device removals) was performed in 32 of 166 patients (19.3%). There were 13 mechanical device failures (7.8%), 11 cuff erosions (6.6%) and 2 periprosthetic infections (1.2%). Total or near total continence was achieved in 125 patients (75.3%), while 25 (15.1%) had improved urinary control.