{"id":13090,"date":"2025-12-02T11:30:47","date_gmt":"2025-12-02T11:30:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/?p=13090"},"modified":"2025-12-03T12:43:54","modified_gmt":"2025-12-03T12:43:54","slug":"how-shared-decision-making-in-sacral-neuromodulation-can-help-improve-outcomes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/bladder-bowel\/how-shared-decision-making-in-sacral-neuromodulation-can-help-improve-outcomes\/","title":{"rendered":"How shared decision-making in sacral neuromodulation can help improve outcomes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div style=\"background-color:#f2f2f2;color:#32373c\" class=\"wp-block-atomic-blocks-ab-profile-box round ab-has-avatar ab-font-size-14 ab-block-profile ab-profile-columns\"><div class=\"ab-profile-column ab-profile-avatar-wrap\"><div class=\"ab-profile-image-wrap\"><figure class=\"ab-profile-image-square\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"328\" height=\"512\" class=\"ab-profile-avatar wp-image-13091\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2025\/12\/02112033\/vicky-1764674432-Ms-Bianca-Barea-Consultant-Urologist-Bon-Secours-Hospital-Dublin.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure><\/div><\/div><div class=\"ab-profile-column ab-profile-content-wrap\"><h2 class=\"ab-profile-name\" style=\"color:#32373c\">Bianca Barea<\/h2><p class=\"ab-profile-title\" style=\"color:#32373c\">Consultant Urologist, Beaumont Hospital<\/p><div class=\"ab-profile-text\"><\/div><ul class=\"ab-social-links\"><\/ul><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Consultant urologist Dr Bianca Barea discusses the importance of shared decision-making for bladder dysfunction and the life-changing intervention of sacral neuromodulation.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>Urinary and faecal incontinence affect millions, yet stigma and embarrassment mean many never seek help or discuss their symptoms,\u201d says Bianca Barea, consultant urologist at Beaumont Hospital. \u201cPatients need to know that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.supportincontinence.org\/what-treatments-are-available\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">treatment options are available,<\/a> empowering them to take that first step to initial assessment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-raising-awareness-of-sacral-neuromodulation\"><strong>Raising awareness of sacral neuromodulation<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Sacral neuromodulation (SNM) is a minimally invasive procedure in which an implanted device sends mild electric impulses to stimulate the nerves that control your bowel and bladder.&nbsp;\u201cAlternative treatments for bladder control often require repeat procedures, but the SNM device can last for many years, providing long-term relief, giving patients their quality of life back,\u201d explains Barea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSNM is typically a third-line option for patients who haven\u2019t responded to conservative or medication-based treatments, but it can be life-changing, helping patients regain <a href=\"http:\/\/www.supportincontinence.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">normal bladder or bowel function<\/a>. Patients who undergo the SNM procedure often report dramatic improvements; some go from waking five times a night to not waking at all, or from being unable to void to emptying normally again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Beaumont Hospital has a comprehensive SNM service, including a highly experienced team \u2014 Dr Barea, Dr Forde, Dr McCawley and advanced nurse practitioner Hannah Graham \u2014 equipped to provide patients with expert assessment, individualised treatment planning and seamless management of both trial and permanent SNM implants. \u201cWe also run workshops for GPs to ensure they know that SNM is an option for patients in practice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Sacral neuromodulation (SNM) is a minimally invasive procedure in which an<br> implanted device sends mild electric impulses to stimulate the nerves that control your bowel and bladder. <a id=\"_msocom_1\"><\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-importance-of-shared-decision-making\"><strong>Importance of shared decision-making<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Shared decision-making is important, aligning treatment discussions with the expertise of the healthcare professional and the patient\u2019s preferences. \u201cMaking patients aware of their treatment options is one of the most important parts of the consultation,\u201d explains Barea. \u201cEach treatment option has its pros and cons, and what\u2019s right depends on the patient\u2019s age, gender, lifestyle and the specific characteristics of their condition. Patient preferences are key, and treatment should be tailored to everyone\u2019s needs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Raising awareness of potential treatment options can influence patient outcomes, whether through information aids such as leaflets or via online resources such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baus.org.uk\/professionals\/bsot\/frcs_urol_resources.aspx\">BAUS<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbuk.org.uk\/uncovering-pathways-in-bladder-and-bowel-continence-care\/#urinary-incontinence-2\">BBUK<\/a>, which ensure that patients fully understand their choices, feel supported in decision-making and can access the most appropriate therapies for their individual needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a id=\"_msocom_1\"><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Consultant urologist Dr Bianca Barea discusses the importance of shared decision-making for bladder dysfunction and the life-changing intervention of sacral neuromodulation. Urinary and faecal incontinence affect millions, yet stigma and embarrassment mean many never seek help or discuss their symptoms,\u201d says Bianca Barea, consultant urologist at Beaumont Hospital. \u201cPatients need to know that treatment options &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/bladder-bowel\/how-shared-decision-making-in-sacral-neuromodulation-can-help-improve-outcomes\/\">Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":163,"featured_media":13094,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5955],"tags":[5998],"class_list":["post-13090","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bladder-bowel","tag-bladder-bowel"],"acf":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2025\/12\/02112955\/vicky-1764674993-GettyImages-1770059127-600x400.jpg","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2025\/12\/02112955\/vicky-1764674993-GettyImages-1770059127-600x600.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"Mica Robertson","author_link":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/author\/micarobertson\/"},"vicky_category_order":[{"category_id":5955,"order":"0"}],"vicky_index_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13090","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/163"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13090"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13090\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13109,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13090\/revisions\/13109"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13094"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13090"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13090"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13090"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}