Do you suffer from the discomfort and embarrassment of urinary incontinence? You are not alone. As many as 35 percent of adult women experience some form of this problem. Stress urinary incontinence refers to loss of urine when pressure or “stress” is put on the bladder by the diaphragm, such as from coughing. Until quite recently this condition, resulting from weakened or damaged muscles, could only be cured with a surgical procedure involving a long recovery and high risk of complications.

Now, around the world – and at University Hospital and Medical Center in Broward County –a simpler, safer procedure has revolutionized treatment. It’s called Tension-free Vaginal Tape or TVT. Although available in the U.S. for a relatively short time, this minimally invasive procedure has been performed on 70,000 patients world wide. The low risk, 30-minute procedure is typically performed on an outpatient basis under local anesthesia. Because TVT requires no incisions or sutures, recovery time is generally short, and its ease and safety make it available to elderly women who might otherwise not be eligible for incontinence surgery.