Purpose of Technology

Implantable sacral nerve stimulation (SNS) is a treatment for urinary voiding dysfunction in which electrical impulses are delivered to sacral nerve fibers S2, S3, or S4 to modulate the neural pathways responsible for controlling urinary voiding. The goal of SNS is to restore voluntary urination in patients with urinary voiding dysfunction.

Questions addressed in this report include:

• Does SNS reduce the symptoms associated with urinary voiding dysfunction?
• Is chronic SNS safe?
• Have definitive patient selection criteria for SNS for the management of urinary voiding dysfunction been established?

These questions provide a framework for review and synthesis of the best available evidence, which is presented in this report, along with the Hayes Ratings for the technology. This report also provides background information about the condition being treated, a description of the technology, and the context for development of the technology. Other key elements addressed in the report include the regulatory status; applicable Medicare and commercial payer coverage policies; relevant ICD-9 and ICD-10 diagnosis codes; cost and cost effectiveness; credentialing; hospital length of stay; need for large case management; and ongoing and future clinical trials of the technology.

Posted in Directory Reports
This entry was posted on Monday, July 12th, 2010 at 12:00 pm.