Frank Martens

Radboud University Medical Centre (Radboudumc) · Department of Urology

Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) is a common and burdensome condition. Because of the large knowledge gap around the molecular processes involved in its pathophysiology, the aim of this review was to provide a systematic overview of genetic variants, gene and protein expression changes related to SUI in human and animal studies. On 5 January 2021,...

Background : To evaluate the long term follow up in terms of safety and usability of the Urgent-SQ system (implantable tibial nerve stimulator) in patients without strict study regime and absence of follow up by the sponsor. Materials & Methods : Between 2002 and 2004 eight patients were implanted with the Urgent-SQ system. Seven patients were inc...

Purpose The aim of this study was to demonstrate features predictive of treatment response for patient-tailored overactive bladder (OAB) intervention with an implantable tibial neurostimulator using patient and technical prediction factors. Materials and Methods This study was designed as a follow-up study based on parameter settings and patients'...

Introduction: The aim of this study is to determine the outcome of surgically treated vesico-vaginal fistulae (VVaFs) using a transvaginal approach with a Latzko technique. Methods: A retrospective chart study was conducted at the Department of Urology, Radboud University Medical Centre. Surgical approaches to repair VVaF, from 2014 to September...

Introduction and objectives Overactive bladder syndrome (OAB) is defined as urinary urgency, with or without urgent urinary incontinence; it is often associated with urinary frequency and nocturia, in the absence of any pathological or metabolic conditions that may cause or mimic OAB. The aim of this study was to evaluate the long-term real-life ad...

How is quality of life (QoL) experienced in patients living with a non-continent urinary diversion (NCUD) for more than 25 years. The NCUD still is important in patients who suffer from congenital anomaly, urinary malignancy, end-stage functional voiding or storage disorders. Various complications can occur having a NCUD and can influence psycholog...

Samenvatting In dit opiniestuk proberen de auteurs de volgende vraag te beantwoorden: ‘stressincontinentie bij mannen: waarom we prospectieve studies nodig hebben’. We leggen uit dat een jarenlang bestaande gouden standaard als operatieve oplossing, namelijk de sfincterprothese, en overhaaste introductie van allerlei andere chirurgische oplossingen...

Purpose of review: This review is timely and relevant because many patients live many years with urinary diversions. Knowledge about the long term outcome with respect to function and complications are important for patient counseling and for the manner to follow-up patients. This study was performed to investigate the functioning of urinary diver...

Aims: Primary objective is to investigate whether prostatic urethral lift (PUL) results in an improvement of urodynamic parameters that define bladder outlet obstruction (urethral resistance algorithm [URA], Schäfer grade, PdetQmax, PdetOpen). Methods: 20 patients (main inclusion criteria: ≥ 50 years of age, BPO, IPSS ≥ 13, prostate volume ≤ 60...

Introduction: The primary aim of this study was to evaluate the results of midurethral sling (MUS) removal in women who have pain as their single complication of MUS. Material and methods: We performed a retrospective chart study supplemented with a cross sectional questionnaire. Women who underwent MUS removal for pain as the solitary reason fo...

Background: To evaluate the long term follow up in terms of safety and usability of the Urgent-SQ system (implantable tibial nerve stimulator) based on 1 year, 9 year follow up and novel results 18 years after first implantation in 2002. Materials & Methods: Since 2002, eight patients were implanted with the Urgent-SQ system. Seven patients were in...

Background Urinary incontinence is a bothersome symptom. Although the relationship between stress urinary incontinence (SUI) and vaginal delivery is established, the pathology underlying SUI after vaginal birth remains to be elucidated. Objectives To determine whether levator ani muscle avulsion predisposes for SUI in women. Search strategy Pubme...

Purpose of review: To provide an overview of available electrical stimulation devices in neurogenic patients with lower urinary tract disease. Recent findings: It is advocated to do more studies in neurogenic patients as results seem promising and useful but most studies did not include neurogenic patients or neurogenic patients were not analyze...

Purpose of Review Detrusor underactivity (DU) and its symptom-based correlation, the underactive bladder (UAB), are common problems encountered in urological practice. Whilst DU has been defined for many years, only recently has UAB received a formal definition and there is now accumulating literature based on this condition. In this article, we re...

Introduction: The quality of urodynamic measurements in clinical practice has been debated as a matter of concern. It is considered plausible that this has a direct bearing on patient care and the perceived value of urodynamic testing. Methods: This is a report of the proceedings of the Think Tank: "Is the value of urodynamics undermined by poor...

Purpose To examine the functional survival of the artificial urinary sphincter (AUS) AMS800 in a changing patient population. Because of increasing experience and dexterity of the operating team, we hypothesize that patients with known risk factors nowadays have a better survival of their prosthesis. However, due to a change to a more complex case...

Underactive bladder (UAB) is a multifactorial symptom complex often related to detrusor underactivity (DU). Although recognized as a common cause of lower urinary tract symptoms and with significant effects on quality of life, UAB/DU is largely underresearched. Herein, we review up‐to‐date knowledge on the pathophysiological mechanisms of UAB/DU, w...

Traumatic lesions including head trauma, traumatic spinal cord injury and iatrogenic peripheral nerve injury can cause damage to this extensive network of innervations of the bladder. This will result in bladder and/or sphincter dysfunction like detrusor overactivity with or without detrusor sphincter dyssynergia and detrusor hypocontractility depe...

The Brindley procedure combines two procedures for management of multiple organ dysfunction by controlling not only micturition but also defecation and erections in males. Firstly, sacral anterior root stimulation (SARS) of efferent nerves enables micturition, defecation, and erections. Secondly, a dorsal rhizotomy treats detrusor overactivity, pre...

Objectives This review describes the evidence from established and experimental therapies that use electrical nerve stimulation to treat lower urinary tract dysfunction. Methods Clinical studies on established treatments such as percutaneous posterior tibial nerve stimulation (P-PTNS), transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), sacral ner...

Purpose: This study is designed to investigate the safety and performance of a new implantable system for tibial nerve stimulation for overactive bladder symptoms. Materials and methods: A battery-free stimulation device for tibial nerve stimulation (BlueWind Medical Ltd.) was implanted in 15 patients. Safety and efficacy assessments were done a...

Objectives: To evaluate the effect of subject-controlled, on-demand, dorsal genital nerve (DGN) stimulation on non-neurogenic urgency urinary incontinence (UUI) in a domestic setting. Materials and Methods:Non-neurogenic patients >18 years with overactive bladder symptoms and UUI were included. Exclusion criteria were mainly stress urinary incontin...

Een van de meest beschamende elementen van het overactieveblaassyndroom is dat de tijd tussen urge en urinelozing te kort is om het toilet te halen. Stimuleren van de nervus dorsalis genitalis bij aandrang kan deze tijd verlengen en zo urge-incontinentie voorkomen.

This study evaluates the outcome of trials to stimulate the dorsal genital nerve (DGN) in patients with lower urinary tract dysfunction. The aim of most studies was to suppress detrusor overactivity in patients with overactive bladder (OAB) syndrome by DGN stimulation. A literature search was performed using Pub Med, Web of Science, and Scopus data...

The anatomy of the pudendal nerve and its nerve branches, especially the dorsal nerve of the penis and clitoris (dorsal genital nerves), and the clinical application of electrical stimulation of these nerves in patients with overactive bladder syndrome and detrusor overactivity are reviewed. A literature search was performed using the PubMed® datab...

Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is an optical technology able to detect the hemodynamic changes in biological tissues. Our objective was to determine the feasibility of applying NIRS in the noninvasive diagnosis of detrusor overactivity (DO). Comparative analysis was performed on 39 involuntary detrusor contractions (IDC) from 23 filling cystomet...

To determine the effects on Quality of Life (QoL) of a Brindley procedure, which combines a sacral dorsal root rhizotomy to treat neurogenic detrusor overactivity with sacral anterior root stimulation to enable micturition, defecation, and penile erections in complete spinal cord injury (SCI) patients compared to a matched Control Group. Cross-sect...

The Brindley procedure consists of a stimulator for sacral anterior-root stimulation and a rhizotomy of the dorsal sacral roots to abolish neurogenic detrusor overactivity. Stimulation of the sacral anterior roots enables micturition, defecation, and erections. This overview discusses the technique, selection of patients and clinical results of the...

Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is an optical technology. It detects the hemodynamic changes in tissues via noninvasive measurement of changes in the concentration of tissue chromophores such as oxyhemoglobin (O(2)Hb) and deoxyhemoglobin (HHb). Involuntary bladder contractions may cause changes detectable by NIRS. To address the accuracy and repr...

Adequate urodynamic assessment of bladder behavior is essential in spinal cord injury (SCI) patients. Ambulatory urodynamics are more sensitive to detect detrusor overactivity (DO) than conventional urodynamics. The primary objective of this study was to determine the value of ambulatory urodynamics for the diagnosis of DO in SCI patients compared...

Experimental. Electrical stimulation of the dorsal genital nerves (DGN) suppresses involuntary detrusor contractions (IDCs) in patients with neurogenic detrusor overactivity (DO). The feasibility of minimal invasive electrode implantation near the DGN and the effectiveness of conditional stimulation to suppress IDCs at different amplitudes in spina...

Intrathecal baclofen, administered via a Baclofen pump, is used for patients with spasticity. We report here a case of intrathecal catheter retraction following surgery. A male patient with adrenoleukodystrophy and a baclofen pump implant was admitted to the urology department with bladder stones. A transurethral cystolithotripsy and a suprapubic c...

Stress urinary incontinence is a bothersome complication of radical prostatectomy. Surgical treatment consists of the artificial urinary sphincter (AUS), the male sling and bulk injections. This study presents the results of the first series of implantations of ProACT in the Netherlands. Materials and A non-validated questionnaire was sent to 29 ma...

Conditional stimulation of dorsal genital nerves suppresses undesired detrusor contractions (UDC) and consequently increases bladder capacity and prevents incontinence. No clinically applicable sensor exists for reliable bladder activity monitoring as a trigger for conditional stimulation. Primary objective of this study was to determine whether bl...

Stress urinary incontinence is a bothersome complication after radical prostatectomy. Surgical treatment consists of the artificial urinary sphincter (AUS), the male sling and bulk injections. This study presents the results of the first series of implantations of ProACT® in the Netherlands. Remarkable are the high revision and explantation rates....