Male urethral prosthesis

1. An implantable urethral prosthesis comprising:

an elongate strip of flexible material including first and second ends and a center point, the first and second ends adapted to be secured to soft tissue in the vicinity of a patient's descending rami;

an inflatable pillow attached to the center point of the elongate strip that is adapted to exert a force on the patient's urethra when inflated with an inflating agent, the inflatable pillow including a compression region having a tactile locator that is adapted to be contacted to compress the inflatable pillow by exerting pressure on the patient's skin;

a pressurized reservoir in fluid communication with the inflatable pillow that is adapted to receive inflating agent from, and transfer inflating agent to, the inflatable pillow; and

a restrictor adapted to regulate the transfer of the inflating agent between the pressurized reservoir and the pillow such that the pressurized reservoir and the pillow are in equilibrium when the pillow is inflated, and wherein upon compression of the inflatable pillow, the inflating agent transfers from the inflatable pillow to the pressurized reservoir.

2. The urethral prosthesis of claim 1 wherein the elongate strip comprises a mesh material.

3. The urethral prosthesis of claim 1 wherein the elongate strip is coated with an elastomer, silicone, polypropylene, polyester, polyurethane, or derivatives or combinations thereof.

4. The urethral prosthesis of claim 1 wherein the elongate strip has a width between about 1.5 and about 2.5 cm.

5. The urethral prosthesis of claim 1 wherein the elongate strip has a length between about 10 and about 15 cm.

6. The urethral prosthesis of claim 1 wherein the inflatable pillow comprises an elastomeric material.

7. The urethral prosthesis of claim 1 wherein the inflatable pillow comprises a silicone material.

8. The urethral prosthesis of claim 1 wherein the inflatable pillow is adapted to have a pressure of between about 50 and about 140 cm H 2 O when in equilibrium with the pressurized reservoir.

9. The urethral prosthesis of claim 1 wherein the inflatable pillow is removably attached to the substrate.

10. The urethral prosthesis of claim 1 wherein the pressurized reservoir comprises an elastomeric material.

11. The urethral prosthesis of claim 1 wherein the pressurized reservoir comprises a silicone material.

12. The urethral prosthesis of claim 1 wherein the pressurized reservoir is disposed on the side of the elongate strip opposite the inflatable pillow.

13. The urethral prosthesis of claim 1 wherein the restrictor regulates the transfer of the inflating agent such that after terminating compression, the inflating agent transfers to the inflatable pillow over a sufficient amount of time to allow voiding of a patient's bladder prior to the inflatable pillow and reservoir reaching equilibrium.

14. The urethral prosthesis of claim 1 wherein the restrictor comprises a ball-and-seat valve.

15. The urethral prosthesis of claim 14 wherein the restrictor comprises a fluid resistor.

16. The urethral prosthesis of claim 15 wherein the resistor is a small orifice fluid resistor.

17. The urethral prosthesis of claim 1 wherein the restrictor comprises at least one fluid conduit extending between the pressurized reservoir and the pillow.

18. The urethral prosthesis of claim 17 wherein the conduit comprises a flexible tube having a first end in fluid communication with the inflatable pillow, and a second end in fluid communication with the reservoir.

19. The urethral prosthesis of claim 1 wherein the pressurized reservoir is disposed on the side of the elongate strip opposite the inflatable pillow, and the compression region is contained within the pressurized reservoir.

20. The urethral prosthesis of claim 19 wherein the compression region comprises a stiffener.

21. The urethral prosthesis of claim 20 wherein the stiffener comprises a silicone stiffener.

22. The urethral prosthesis of claim 20 wherein the stiffener comprises a fluid orifice.

23. The urethral prosthesis of claim 1 further comprising a first connector attached to the first end of the elongate strip and a second connector attached to the second end of the elongate strip, wherein the connectors are adapted to removably attach to a guide instrument during implantation.

24. A method of treating urinary incontinence in a patient comprising:

implanting a urethral prosthesis comprising:

securing a first side of an elongate strip of a flexible material to soft tissue in the vicinity of the patient's descending rami,

securing a second side of an elongate strip of a flexible material to soft tissue in the vicinity of the patient's descending rami,

positioning an inflatable pillow attached at a center point of the elongate strip under the patient's urethra, the inflatable pillow adapted to exert a force on the urethra when inflated with an inflating agent,

implanting a pressurized reservoir in the patient, the pressurized reservoir in fluid communication with the pillow to receive inflating agent from, and transfer inflating agent to, the inflatable pillow, and

implanting a restrictor to regulate the transfer of the inflating agent between the pressurized reservoir and the pillow such that the pressurized reservoir and the pillow are in equilibrium when the pillow is inflated, and wherein upon compression of the inflatable pillow, the inflating agent transfers from the inflatable pillow to the pressurized reservoir;

exerting sufficient pressure on the patient's skin in the vicinity of the inflatable pillow to compress the inflatable pillow and to reduce the force exerted by the inflatable pillow on the portion of the patient's urethra;

terminating the pressure exerted on the inflatable pillow to allow the inflatable pillow to inflate; and

voiding the bladder before the inflatable pillow and reservoir reach equilibrium.

25. The method of claim 24 wherein the implanting step comprises positioning the inflatable pillow to contact a portion of the patient's bulbar urethra.

26. The method of claim 24 wherein the implanting step comprises positioning the pressurized reservoir, restrictor or both in a scrotum of a male patient.

27. The method of claim 24 wherein the elongate strip further comprises a connector at each end of the strip, and wherein the implanting step further comprises removably attaching a guide instrument to each of the connectors to implant the elongate strip in the vicinity of the patient's descending rami.

28. The method of claim 24 wherein the elongate strip is positioned anterior to the pubic symphysis.

29. The method of claim 24 wherein the elongate strip is positioned posterior to the pubic symphysis.

30. The method of claim 24 wherein the elongate strip is positioned transobturator relative to the pubic symphysis.