Sacral nerve stimulation to treat nonobstructive urinary retention in women.

Nonobstructive urinary retention is an uncommon finding in women that may represent a difficult management problem for urologists and patients. Pharmacotherapy and urethral dilatation are rarely successful, and clean intermittent catheterization may be cumbersome. Those patients who cannot self-catheterize may be subjected to an indwelling catheter. Sacral nerve stimulation is a minimally invasive treatment for nonobstructive urinary retention, with 10 years of data documenting its long-term safety and efficacy. This minimally invasive treatment can restore satisfactory voiding in most patients and should be a routine part of treatment for this rare but important condition.