Skip to main content

Urethral Bulking Agents

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Female Genitourinary and Pelvic Floor Reconstruction

Abstract

Urethral bulking agents (UBA) has been used for decades to treat stress urinary incontinence (SUI). After being first described in the 1930s, several agents have been introduced to the market with varying profiles of safety, durability, and efficacy. Currently available agents include polyacrylamide hydrogel (Bulkamid®), calcium hydroxyl apatite (Coaptite®), carbon-coated zirconium (Durasphere®), polydimethylsiloxane elastomer (Macroplastique®), and PDMS-U (Urolastic®). Considered safe and minimally invasive procedures, UBA benefit from a renewed interest from patients and practitioners, regarding the growing controversies surrounding the use of mid-urethral synthetic slings. After describing the mechanisms of action and injection techniques, this chapter looks at currently available UAB and their own safety and efficacy profile based on the most relevant data found in the literature.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Minassian VA, Drutz HP, Al-Badr A. Urinary incontinence as a worldwide problem. Int J Gynaecol Obstet. 2003;82(3):327–38.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Brazzelli M, Javanbakht M, Imamura M, Hudson J, Moloney E, Becker F, Wallace S, Omar MI, Shimonovich M, MacLennan G, Ternent L, Vale L, Montgomery I, Mackie P, Saraswat L, Monga A, Craig D. Surgical treatments for women with stress urinary incontinence: the ESTER systematic review and economic evaluation. Health Technol Assess. 2019;23(14):1–306.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Robinson D, Anders K, Cardozo L, et al. What women want – their interpretation of the concept of cure. Neurourol Urodyn. 2002;21:429–30.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Murless BC. The injection treatment of stress incontinence. J Obstet Gynaecol Br Emp. 1938;45:67–73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Quackles R. Deux incontinences après adénomectomie guéries par injection de paraffine dans le périnée. Acta Urol Belkg. 1955;23:259–62.

    Google Scholar 

  6. Sachse H. Treatment of urinary incontinence with sclerosing solutions. Indications, results, complications. Urol Int. 1963;15:225–44.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Mamut A, Carlson KV. Periurethral bulking agents for female stress urinary incontinence in Canada. Can Urol Assoc J. 2017;11:S152–4.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Lee PE, Kung RC, Drutz HP. Periurethral autologous fat injection as treatment for female stress urinary incontinence: a randomized double-blind controlled trial. J Urol. 2001;165(1):153–8.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Kiilholma PJ, Chancellor MB, Makinen J, Hirsch IH, Klemi PJ. Complications of Teflon injection for stress urinary incontinence. Neurourol Urodyn. 1993;12:131–7.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Kirchin V, Page T, Keegan PE, Atiemo K, Cody JD, McClinton S. Urethral injection therapy for urinary incontinence in women. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2017;37:2286–7.

    Google Scholar 

  11. Appell RA. Collagen injection therapy for urinary incontinence. Urol Clin North Am. 1994;21:177–82.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Cross CA, English SF, Cespedes RD, et al. A follow-up on transurethral collagen injection therapy for urinary incontinence. J Urol. 1998;159:106–8.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Hurtado EA, Appell RA. Complications of Tegress injections. Int Urogynecol J Pelvic Floor Dysfunct. 2009;20(1):127; author reply 129. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00192-008-0674-z. Epub 2008 Jul 5.

  14. Hilton P. Urethrovaginal fistula associated with 'sterile abscess' formation following periurethral injection of dextranomer/hyaluronic acid co-polymer (Zuidex) for the treatment of stress urinary incontinence: a case report. BJOG. 2009;116(11):1527–30.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Loisel C, Secco M, Rocher-Barrat A, Caremel R, Grise P. Periurethral pseudocysts following urethral injections of Zuidex: review of the literature. Prog Urol. 2008;18(13):1038–43. French

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Herschorn S, Randomski SB, Steele DJ. Early experience with intraurethral collagen injections for urinary incontinence. J Urol. 1992;148:1797–800.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Richardson TD, Kennelly MJ, Faerber GJ. Endoscopic injections of glutaraldehyde cross-linked collagene for the treatment of intrinsic deficiency in women. Urology. 1995;46:378–81.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Monga AK, Robinson D, Stanton SL. Periurethral collagens injections for genuine stress incontinence. Br J Urol. 1995;76:156–60.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Kobashi KC, Albo ME, Dmochowski RR, et al. Surgical treatment of female stress urinary incontinence: AUA/SUFU guideline. J Urol. 2017;198:875.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Bent AE, Foote J, Siegel S, et al. Collagen implant for treating stress urinary incontinence in women with urethral hypermobility. J Urol. 2001;166:1354–7.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Kotb AF, Campeau L, Corcos J. Urethral bulking agents: techniques and outcomes. Curr Urol Rep. 2009;10:396–400.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Ghoniem G, Boctor N. Update on urethral bulking agents for female stress urinary incontinence due to intrinsic sphincter deficiency. J Urol Res. 2014;1:1009.

    Google Scholar 

  23. Schulz JA, Nager CW, Stanton SL, Baessler K. Bulking agents for stress urinary incontinence: short-term results and complications in a randomized comparison of periurethral and transurethral injections. Int Urogynecol J. 2004;15(4):261–5.

    Google Scholar 

  24. Kuhn A, Stadlmayr W, Lengsfeld D, Mueller MD. Where should bulking agents for female urodynamic stress incontinence be injected? Int Urogynecol J Pelvic Floor Dysfunct. 2008;19:817–21.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Lose G, Sørensen HC, Axelsen SM, Falconer C, Lobodasch K, Safwat T. An open multicenter study of polyacrylamide hydrogel (Bulkamid®) for female stress and mixed urinary incontinence. Int Urogynecol J. 2010;21(12):1471–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Toozs-Hobson P, Al-Singary W, Fynes M, Tegerstedt G, Lose G. Two-year follow-up of an open-label multicenter study of polyacrylamide hydrogel (Bulkamid®) for female stress and stress-predominant mixed incontinence. Int Urogynecol J. 2012;23(10):1373–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Mouritsen L, Lose G, Møller-Bek K. Long-term follow-up after urethral injection with polyacrylamide hydrogel for female stress incontinence. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 2014;93(2):209–12.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Sokol ER, Karram MM, Dmochowski R. Efficacy and safety of polyacrylamide hydrogel for the treatment of female stress incontinence: a randomized, prospective, multicenter North American study. J Urol. 2014;192(3):843–9.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Zivanovic I, Rautenberg O, Lobodasch K, von Bünau G, Walser C, Viereck V. Urethral bulking for recurrent stress urinary incontinence after midurethral sling failure. Neurourol Urodyn. 2017;36(3):722–6.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Itkonen Freitas AM, Mentula M, Rahkola-Soisalo P, Tulokas S, Mikkola TS. Tension-free vaginal tape surgery versus polyacrylamide hydrogel injection for primary stress urinary incontinence: a randomized clinical trial. J Urol. 2020;203(2):372–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Martan A, Masata J, Svabik K, Krhut J. Transurethral injection of polyacrylamide hydrogel (Bulkamid®) for the treatment of female stress or mixed urinary incontinence. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol. 2014;178:199–202.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Lightner DJ. Review of the available urethral bulking agents. Curr Opin Urol. 2002;12:333–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Li H, Westney OL. Injection of urethral bulking agents. Urol Clin N Am. 2019;46:1–15. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00192-021-04937-1.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Maher CF, O’Reilly BA, Dwyer PL, Carey MP, Cornish A, Schluter P. Pubovaginal sling versus transurethral Macroplastique for stress urinary incontinence and intrinsic sphincter deficiency: a prospective randomized controlled trial. BJOG. 2005;112(6):797–801.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Andersen RC. Long-term follow-up comparison of Durasphere and Contigen in the treatment of stress urinary incontinence. J Low Genit Tract Dis. 2002;6(4):239–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Chrouser KL, Fick F, Goel A, Itano NB, Sweat SD, Lightner DJ. Carbon coated zirconium beads in beta-glucan gel and bovine glutaraldehyde cross-linked collagen injections for intrinsic sphincter deficiency: continence and satisfaction after extended followup. J Urol. 2004;171(3):1152–5.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  37. Pannek J, Brands FH, Senge T. Particle migration after transurethral injection of carbon coated beads for stress urinary incontinence. J Urol. 2001;166(4):1350–3.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  38. Hussain SM, Bray R. Urethral bulking agents for female stress urinary incontinence. Neurourol Urodyn. 2019:1–6.

    Google Scholar 

  39. Hoe V, Haller B, Yao HH, O’Connel HE. Urethral bulking agents for the treatment of stress urinary incontinence in women: a systematic review. Neurourol Urodyn. 2021:1–40.

    Google Scholar 

  40. Mayer RD, Dmochowski RR, Appell RA. Multicenter prospective randomized 52-week trial of calcium hydroxylapatite versus bovine dermal collagen for treatment of stress urinary incontinence. Urology. 2007;69:976–880.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. Ghoniem G, Corcos J, Comiter C, Westney OL, Hershorn S. Durability of urethral bulking agent injection in for female stress urinary incontinence: 2-year multicenter study results. J Urol. 2010;183(4):1444–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. Chapple CR, Brubaker L, Haab F, van Kerrebroeck P, Robinson D. Patient-perceived outcomes in the treatment of stress urinary incontinence: focus on urethral injection therapy. Int Urogynecol J. 2006;18:199–205.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  43. Casteleijn FM, Zwolsman SE, Kowalik CR, Roovers J-PPWR. Patients’ perspectives on urethral bulk injection therapy and mid-urethral sling surgery for stress urinary incontinence. Int Urogynecol J. 2018;29(9):1249–57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  44. Cox SJ. A study of factors that influence the choice of primary surgical procedure for stress urinary incontinence from the perspective of patients and clinicians. Master’s thesis. 2019; University of Manchester, England.

    Google Scholar 

  45. Corcos J, Collet JP, Shapiro S, Herschorn S, Radomski SB, Schick E, Gajewski JB, Benedetti A, MacRamallah E, Hyams B. Multicenter randomized clinical trial comparing surgery and collagen injections for treatment of female stress urinary incontinence. Urology. 2005;65(5):898–904.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  46. Dray E, Cameron A, Hall M, Clemens JQ, Stoffel J. Can urethral bulking agents salvage failed slings? Neurourol Urodyn. 2017;36

    Google Scholar 

  47. Kocjancic E, Mourad S, Acar Ö. Complications of urethral bulking therapy for female stress urinary incontinence. Neurourol Urodyn. 2018:1–9.

    Google Scholar 

  48. Sèbe P, Doucet C, Cornu JN, Ciofu C, Costa P, de Medina SG, Pinset C, Haab F. Intrasphincteric injections of autologous muscular cells in women with refractory stress urinary incontinence: a prospective study. Int Urogynecol J. 2011;22(2):183–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  49. Hillary CJ, Roman S, MacNeil S, Aicher WK, Stenzl A, Chapple CR. Regenerative medicine and injection therapies in stress urinary incontinence. Nat Rev Urol. 2020;17(3):151–61. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41585-019-0273-4.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Quentin Alimi .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2022 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Alimi, Q., Bouchard, B., Corcos, J. (2022). Urethral Bulking Agents. In: Martins, F.E., Holm, H.V., Sandhu, J., McCammon, K.A. (eds) Female Genitourinary and Pelvic Floor Reconstruction. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-71112-2_25-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-71112-2_25-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-71112-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-71112-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference MedicineReference Module Medicine

Publish with us

Policies and ethics