Benefits and risks

Information for the public

When NICE looked at the evidence, it decided that sacral nerve stimulation is safe enough and works well enough for use in the NHS. The 17 studies that NICE looked at involved a total of 969 patients.

Generally, they showed the following benefits:

an increase in the amount of urine emptied from the bladder – the total amount emptied per day nearly doubled after 6 months of treatment
a decrease in the number of catheterisations per day. After 18 months, 58% of patients treated by sacral nerve stimulation did not need a catheter.

The studies showed that the risks included:

pain and infection
problems with the device or the leads not working or moving out of position.

If you want to know more about the studies, see the guidance. Ask your health professional to explain anything you don't understand.