Male urethral prosthesis with tensioning member

摘要

The present invention provides a urethral prosthesis including a first and a second arm that join to form a junction, and a stem that is also joined to the junction. The junction is adapted to exert sufficient pressure on a portion of a patient's urethra to prevent unintentional voiding of the patient's bladder. However, upon exerting a tension force on the stem, the pressure exerted by the junction is reduced such that the patient's bladder may be intentionally voided.

主权项

1. A urethral prosthesis comprising:
a first arm and a second arm that are joined at proximal ends at a junction adapted to exert pressure on a portion of a urethra when implanted, wherein the first and second arms each have a length and are capable of extending from a location below the urethra at the junction to locations in a pelvic region of a patient's body, such that distal ends of the first and second arms are capable of extending to pelvic region locations on respective right and left sides of the patient body while the junction is exerting pressure on a portion of the urethra; a stem joined to the junction, the stem being sized and shaped to be positioned in a scrotum of the patient while the first and second arms are extended to the pelvic region locations on the respective right and left sides, wherein the stem is adapted to be pulled within the scrotum to place a tension force on the stem that will decrease the pressure exerted by the junction on the portion of the urethra, and wherein the stem has a length less than the lengths of the first and second arms; and a tensioning member associated with the first arm and a tensioning member associated with the second arm, each tensioning member being attached to the arm at a distal location and at a proximal location.