Sacral nerve neuromodulation in patients with cardiac pacemakers.

Abstract

The objective of the study was to describe our experience using sacral nerve neuromodulation for urinary urgency, frequency, and urge incontinence in patients with cardiac pacemakers. The study was a case series of 3 patients with cardiac pacemakers who underwent sacral nerve stimulation for refractory urgency, frequency, and urge incontinence. Each patient underwent placement of an InterStim lead wire in the S3 foramen. Intraoperative cardiac monitoring revealed no evidence of cross-interference, even at maximum stimulation. Postoperative telemetry for 24 hours did not reveal any interference from the sacral nerve stimulator. All patients had a greater than 50% reduction in incontinence episodes during their test trial and underwent placement of the InterStim implantable pulse generator (IPG). Intraoperative and postoperative IPG programming was done with cardiac monitoring; no interaction was detectable. Sacral nerve stimulation appears to be safe in the presence of a cardiac pacemaker.