•
Percutaneous tibial nerve
stimulation (PTNS) employs electrical stimulation of the sacral nerve plexus to
treat urinary urgency, frequency and urge incontinence.
•
The intervention with PTNS consist of
delivering impulses accessing the S1-S3 junction of the sacral nerve plexus via
the less invasive route of the tibial nerve.
•
The tibial nerve is
accessed via a fine (34G) needle electrode inserted slightly above the
ankle. This anatomic area, long recognized as the “bladder center”, has
projections to the sacral
nerve plexus creating a feedback loop that neuromodulates bladder
innervation.
However the exact mechanism of
action of neuromodulation remains unclear.
