Office Evaluation and Treatment of Urinary Incontinence

Urinary incontinence is a problem of epidemic proportions that produces social embarrassment, isolation, and shame in the affected women. At a recent NIH consensus conference it was estimated that at least 10 million Americans suffer from urinary incontinence and that in the nation at least $10.3 billion is spent annually on this problem.1 In 1983, the Surgeon General estimated that $8 billion a year was spent on adult diapers for institutionalized patients alone.2 Current cost estimates, with rising prices of these undergarments and pads and active public marketing of these products, are probably well in excess of this staggering amount.