When ring muscles are compromised by infection or disease, patients can experience loss of control or suffer great discomfort due to nerve damage. Treatment includes implantation of artificial ones, a new type of surgery that The Times of Israel reports has been performed for the first time on women in Israel at Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya. Four patients, aged 44 to 75, received the artificial muscles.
The surgeries were carried out using robotic technology and were led by Prof. Lior Lowenstein, Head of the Women’s and Maternity Division at Galilee Medical Center and Vice Dean and Head of the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine at Bar-Ilan University, as well as by Dr. Susana Mustafa Mikhail, head of urogynecology and pelvic floor reconstructive surgery at Galilee Medical Center, in collaboration with Prof. Gilles Karsenty of Aix-Marseille University Medical Center in Marseille, France, one of the world’s leading experts in this field.
Dr. Lowenstein says that the surgery is in high demand and the goal is to continue improving the quality of life of patients. Only a small number of medical centers worldwide have performed this procedure. Israel joins them in leading the innovation efforts so that patients may find new hope.