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MEDICINE

has further fueled that avoidance.
But for women who have already tried behavioral training, Kegel
exercises and other non-surgical solutions without success, surgery
may seem the only alternative. Until now, when the march of tech-
nology has produced a female incontinence treatment based on
high-intensity focused electromagnetic technology (HIFEM).
HIFEM technology uses electromagnetic energy focused directly
on the pelvic floor, inducing electric currents that target neuromus-
cular tissue resulting in supramaximal contractions of the entire
pelvic floor muscle compartments. A single HIFEM session brings
the equivalent of thousands of these supramaximal contractions at
a rate that results in a high degree of muscle re-education in incon-
tinent patients through restoration of neuromuscular control.
This FDA-approved technology is now available through a device
called Emsella – essentially a chair the patient sits on for about 30
minutes per session, or a total of six sessions for most women. The
patient doesn’t even have to change clothes or disrobe. And clinical
research shows 95 percent of Emsella-treated patients reported sig-
nificant improvement in their quality of life. More than two-thirds
report becoming dry or using significantly fewer pads.

New approaches to improving sexual well-being
Female sexual health also is a major issue and another where rapid
technological change is dramatically altering the treatment land-
scape. Ablative laser resurfacing not long ago was the leading-edge
technology for labiaplasty and vaginal rejuvenation, a means of
greatly enhancing female intimate aesthetics and sexual satisfaction, care for our patients.
especially useful as women age. In short, when new technologies bring valid improvements to
But an innovative new technology has emerged, using a combi- healthcare, we can either ignore them or embrace them. We believe
nation of radiofrequency and ultrasound to stimulate new collagen embracing them is the way to go.
and elastin synthesis in the vagina and external genitalia. This com- This philosophy is a major theme of the practice I share, The
bination results in the capacity to deliver more intense energy to the Urology Place, with Dr. Naveen Kella. We believe the relentless
targeted tissues in a shorter time span with greater histological and progress of technology has the potential to reinvent the way we care
clinical benefits while preserving patient comfort. Each session re- for patients and to produce results never previously possible.
quires only a few minutes, is done without even local anesthesia, That’s why Naveen invested the time and energy to become one
and requires little or no recovery time. of the pre-eminent robotic prostate surgeons in the country. And
Women are seeing impressive results from this completely non- why I have devoted decades to research in sexual health – because
invasive, non-surgical treatment methodology. Again, the march of I know there is always a better way as long as we are open to dis-
technological progress never stops. covering it.

Embracing new technologies Dr. Timothy Hlavinka is a board-certified urologist who specializes in both
Patient care shouldn’t be limited to what we, as physicians, al- general urology and lifestyle medicine. He is an expert in women’s sexual med-
ready know. Those of us who’ve spent thousands of hours per- icine and the only MD Fellow of The International Society for the Study of
fecting our surgical skills must always be open to new approaches Women’s Sexual Health in Texas. He also specializes in hormone replacement
and new technologies, knowing that our goal is an optimal patient therapy in both men and women. Hlavinka and Dr. Naveen Kella lead The
outcome, even when new technologies disrupt the usual way we Urology Place in San Antonio.

visit us at www.bcms.org 25