Changing lives for young people like Jenny
Thanks to our incredible supporters, Evelina London Children’s Hospital has launched the UK’s first specialist service for children and young people with rare bladder conditions.
Bladder neuromodulation, also known as sacral nerve stimulation, is a treatment where the patient has an electrical stimulator device, similar to a pacemaker, surgically implanted into their lower back.
Electrode wires run from the device to connect to the patient’s nerves. Once the ground-breaking device is switched on, it sends electrical impulses through the wire to the nerves, to change the nerve messages going to the bladder. These changes prevent incorrect or unwanted nerve messages in the bladder which cause urinary incontinence or a young person being unable to empty their bladder without a catheter (a small tube that is put into the bladder).
"This operation has meant that I won’t need to self-catheterise six times a day…[it has] allowed me to have a whole new freedom and be able to do what I want in my life.”
Jenny Allan, aged 17, was the first teenager to have the procedure in the new service at Evelina London Children’s Hospital. She has a rare condition that means she can’t pass urine without a catheter and has been under the amazing care of Evelina London for the past eight years.
For Jenny, who plans to study ecology at university and dreams of working in the rainforest – or even the Antarctic – the operation is lifechanging.
“Bladder neuromodulation is a specialist procedure that has been available to adults for more than 20 years. It’s great that we’re able to offer it to children and young people to improve their symptoms, giving them greater independence over their daily lives.”
Trailblazing services like this are made possible with your support. Donate today and help Evelina London make leaps in innovation for young people like Jenny.
