A Bladder Pacemaker Gives a Teenager Her Life Back
Jenny Allan, a 17-year-old from Thanet, Kent, has become the first teenager in the UK to receive a bladder pacemaker.
The device, which resembles a cardiac pacemaker, is designed to help those with rare bladder conditions that conventional treatments cannot relieve.
The Surgery
During the surgery, known as bladder neuromodulation, the surgeon implants an electrical stimulator into the patient’s lower back. Once in place, it sends impulses to interrupt faulty nerve signals to the bladder. As a result, a bladder pacemaker eases the symptoms of urinary retention and incontinence.
In This Case
Jenny’s condition has left her unable to pass urine naturally. In fact, she had to install a catheter on her own about six times a day so she could keep her body running well. As an active person, the routine stood between her and her daily activities, hobbies, and lifestyle.
Considering she is planning to study ecology and is hoping to work in remote environments, she needed a better solution. Hence, the bladder pacemaker. She shared with Sky News that “If [she’s] lucky, [she] could end up trekking through a rainforest or counting penguins in the Antarctic.”
And Every Other Case Too
The procedure is not new per se, as it has been a valid option for adults for two decades now, but Jenny is the first teenager in the UK to receive it. After Jenny’s successful operation, the bladder pacemaker is being extended to other young patients with similar conditions who have not found results in conventional treatments, be they teenagers or children.
Jenny is loving her “newfound freedom,” as she has stopped relying on and carrying catheters with her everywhere she goes.
Final Thoughts
The world is chaotic at best and a downright mess at worst. But now and then, a story comes on our news feeds that speaks to the heart. Yes, bladder pacemakers are a foreign concept to most of us, but for Jenny and other people dealing with bladder conditions, it’s their ticket to a fulfilling life.
Jenny’s story and others are why we develop medical technology and experiment with human bodies. The happiness they find is worth every bolt and knowledge that researchers put into their practice.
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