Published on 18 December 2019
It’s best known for helping celebrities maintain their youthful looks, but now doctors at East Kent Hospitals are using Botox to help patients with bladder problems.
The drug, which blocks signals from nerves to muscles, can help people with overactive bladders, who have a sudden and compelling need to visit the toilet many times a day and night and sometimes leak urine if they don’t make it in time. The condition affects the quality of life of millions of people.
Previously, patients needed to travel to London or elsewhere for the treatment but now it can be offered during outpatient clinics at the Kent and Canterbury Hospital.
Consultant urologist Adrian Simoes, who set up the service, said: “Botox has the potential to have a significant positive impact on patients’ lives and I am delighted that my team and I are now able to offer this service.
“Some people with overactive bladders also have neurological conditions such as multiple sclerosis and the treatment could offer them substantial relief.”
The procedure can be done with local anaesthetic and does not require hospital admission.
It will be offered to patients where other options have not worked, including bladder training, lifestyle measures such as losing weight and reducing caffeine, and drug treatment.
It is not suitable for anyone experiencing stress incontinence, where urine leaks when, for example, someone exercises or sneezes.
For more information on the treatment, contact the urology suite at Kent and Canterbury Hospital on 01227 864383. Details will be on the East Kent Urology web pages, https://www.ekhuft.nhs.uk/patients-and-visitors/services/urology/, soon.
