GYNECARE TVT EXACT™ Continence System Joins Ethicon's GYNECARE TVT™ Family of Products Tension-Free Support for Incontinence

SOMERVILLE, N.J., Aug. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Ethicon, Inc., a worldwide leader in surgical care, has announced the availability of the GYNECARE TVT EXACT™ Continence System in the United States. GYNECARE TVT EXACT™ is a new minimally invasive surgical tool used in an outpatient setting for the treatment of stress urinary incontinence (SUI), a condition that affects one in three women in the U.S.(1). The product's integrated system offers an ergonomically designed handle to improve physician control during surgery.

Stress urinary incontinence occurs when the pelvic floor muscles and connective tissue are weakened, limiting support to the urethra in its normal position, causing urine leakage. As a treatment option, physicians can now use GYNECARE TVT EXACT™ to insert a ribbon-like strip of mesh under the urethra to provide support when this area is stressed, such as during a cough or sneeze. This helps the urethra to remain closed when appropriate, preventing involuntary urine leakage.

GYNECARE TVT EXACT™ builds on the design of the GYNECARE TVT™ Tension-free Support for Incontinence which has been used in more than one million procedures worldwide over the past 12 years. GYNECARE TVT EXACT™ is available for physicians in a ready-to-use, single-patient sterile kit.  The newly designed device handle and insertion needle help physicians maintain better control during insertion of the mesh sling.

"The GYNECARE TVT EXACT™ retropubic sling maintains the key components and key concepts of the original GYNECARE TVT™ retropubic sling that has been used in over one million women worldwide, over the past 12 years," said Marc R. Toglia, M.D., Director, Urogynecology, Main Line Health System in Philadelphia. "The new instrumentation simplifies the overall procedure by allowing for a single cystoscopy, while preserving the key procedural steps familiar to thousands of surgeons worldwide."

While very common, SUI is often dismissed as a natural part of aging or inevitable consequence of having children. If left untreated, SUI can put severe limitations on a woman's lifestyle, as any pressure at all can cause recurring bladder leakage which can be uncomfortable and embarrassing.

As with any suspension surgery, this procedure should not be performed in pregnant patients. Additionally, because the PROLENE* Polypropylene Mesh that is used will not stretch significantly, it should not be performed in patients with future growth potential including women with plans for future pregnancy.

Ethicon Women's Health & Urology provides a complete line of GYNECARE® products for gynecologic surgery and incontinence support.  The GYNECARE TVT™ Family of Products Tension-free Support for Incontinence brings over 12 years of technological innovation to treat stress urinary incontinence.  

About Ethicon Women's Health & Urology

Ethicon Women's Health & Urology offers treatment solutions for a range of common, female pelvic health disorders. The technologies are marketed under the GYNECARE® family of brands and include treatments for menorrhagia (heavy periods), fibroids, stress urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse. Ethicon Women's Health & Urology is a division of Ethicon, Inc, a Johnson & Johnson company.

For more information about GYNECARE® brand products including GYNECARE TVT EXACT™, please visit pelvichealthsolutions.com, or call 1-888-GYNECARE to speak with a nurse.

About Ethicon, Inc.

Ethicon, Inc., a Johnson & Johnson company, is a trusted, world-wide leader in surgical care. For over a century, Ethicon has continuously introduced innovations in wound closure, general surgery, wound management, women's health and urology and aesthetic medicine that fulfill the company's vision: Restoration of Body and of Life. For more information, visit www.ethicon.com.

For more information about Ethicon's products, please visit www.ethicon360.com.

Dr. Marc R. Toglia is a paid consultant of Ethicon, Inc.

* Trademark

(1) The Lewin Group. Prevalence and treatment patterns of pelvic health disorders among US women. 2007.

SOURCE Ethicon, Inc.