Pelvic Organ Prolapse · Treatment
Urinary Incontinence Treatment for Women in Gangnam, Seoul
Urinary incontinence treatment depends on the type of leakage: stress incontinence (leaking with coughing or exercise) responds to pelvic floor training and, when severe, a sling operation, while urge incontinence (a sudden need you cannot delay) responds to bladder training, medication and nerve stimulation. Somssi Women's Clinic in Gangnam, Seoul assesses which type you have, treats prolapse-related and mild leakage in the clinic, and coordinates sling surgery or neuromodulation with hospital partners when needed.
Medically reviewed by Dr. Yoon Ho-joo, MD, PhD, OB/GYN specialist, Somssi Women's Clinic · Last updated October 2026
At a glance
Key facts
The essentials, based on how Somssi Women's Clinic performs this procedure or answers this question. Your plan is confirmed at consultation.
- Types assessed: stress, urge (overactive bladder), mixed and overflow incontinence
- Assessment at the clinic: history and bladder diary, urine test, pelvic exam with cough test, prolapse staging, pelvic ultrasound and residual urine check
- First-line care: supervised pelvic floor training, EMS Kegel device, bladder training, weight and fluid advice, vaginal estrogen after menopause
- Clinic surgery: native-tissue pelvic floor and perineal repair when leakage is linked to laxity or prolapse
- Hospital procedures coordinated: mid-urethral sling, bulking injections, sacral neuromodulation, bladder botulinum toxin
- Hospital stay for clinic procedures: none; same-day discharge
- Led by: Dr. Yoon Ho-joo, MD, PhD, member of the Korean Society of Urogynecology
Urinary incontinence treatment at a glance
Treatment matched to the type of leakage, stress, urge, mixed or overflow, starting with a proper assessment.
- urinary incontinence women Korea
- stress incontinence treatment
- leaking when coughing
- overactive bladder Seoul
- pelvic floor training
- incontinence after childbirth
- Cough test + ultrasoundAssessment
- Training + EMS deviceFirst-line care
- Native-tissue repairClinic surgery
- Same dayDischarge
- Identify the typeBladder diary, cough test and residual urine.
- Train firstSupervised pelvic floor training and EMS device.
- Repair supportLaxity or prolapse repaired with own tissue.
- Coordinate proceduresSlings or bulking at partner hospitals.
Illustration: Somssi Women's Clinic, Seoul. Schematic, not to scale; your plan is set by Dr. Yoon Ho-joo after examination.
What is urinary incontinence treatment?
Urinary incontinence is any involuntary leakage of urine. It affects a large share of women after childbirth and menopause, and most never mention it to a doctor. Treatment is not one thing: it is a ladder of options matched to the type and severity of leakage, from exercises and habit changes to medication and, for some women, surgery.
Somssi Women's Clinic is a surgical gynecology clinic in Gangnam, Seoul, founded in 2000 and led by Dr. Yoon Ho-joo, MD, PhD, a member of the Korean Society of Urogynecology. We assess incontinence as part of the whole pelvic floor, treat what belongs in a gynecology clinic, and coordinate with hospital partners for the procedures that belong in a hospital. This page explains how that works and what to expect.
Types of incontinence
| Type | What it feels like | Usual cause |
|---|---|---|
| Stress incontinence | Leaking with coughing, sneezing, laughing, lifting or running | Weak pelvic floor or urethral support after childbirth, aging, menopause |
| Urge incontinence (overactive bladder) | Sudden, strong need to urinate with leakage before reaching the toilet; frequency; waking at night | Bladder muscle contracting at the wrong time; irritation, infection, nerve changes, often no clear cause |
| Mixed incontinence | Both patterns | Common after menopause |
| Overflow incontinence | Constant dribbling, feeling of never emptying | Bladder not emptying fully, sometimes because a prolapse kinks the urethra |
Who should be assessed?
- You wear a pad for leakage or avoid exercise, laughing or long trips because of it.
- You go to the toilet more than eight times a day or more than once a night.
- Leakage began or worsened after childbirth, a pelvic operation or menopause.
- You also feel a bulge or heaviness in the vagina, which suggests prolapse is involved.
- You have a feeling of incomplete emptying, straining to urinate or recurrent urinary infections.
- Leakage happens during intercourse.
Blood in the urine, pain, sudden-onset severe symptoms or neurological symptoms need prompt medical review, and we will direct you to the right place quickly if these are present.
How Somssi assesses urinary incontinence
Dr. Yoon starts with a detailed history: when you leak, how much, what triggers it, your fluid and caffeine intake, births, surgery and medications. We may ask you to keep a three-day bladder diary. A urine test rules out infection, and a pelvic examination checks for prolapse (staged 0 to 4), tissue thinning after menopause and the strength of your pelvic floor contraction. A cough test with a full bladder shows stress leakage directly, and a pelvic ultrasound checks the uterus and ovaries and measures how much urine remains after you void.
When the picture is unclear, when surgery is being considered, or when symptoms suggest a neurological or urological cause, formal urodynamic testing or cystoscopy is arranged at a partner hospital. We would rather spend an extra visit on diagnosis than treat the wrong type of leakage.
Treatment options
Conservative treatment: first for almost everyone
Supervised pelvic floor muscle training is the first-line treatment for stress and mixed incontinence and helps urge symptoms too. We teach you to find and contract the correct muscles; for women who struggle, an EMS (electrical muscle stimulation) Kegel device can contract the muscles for you during a course of sessions. Bladder training, which gradually lengthens the time between voids, is the core treatment for urgency. Reducing caffeine and evening fluids, treating constipation, losing excess weight and stopping smoking all reduce leakage. After menopause, low-dose vaginal estrogen restores the thinned tissue around the urethra and often eases urgency and recurrent infections.
Medication for urge incontinence
If bladder training is not enough, medicines that calm the bladder muscle can be prescribed and reviewed after a few weeks. Side effects such as dry mouth or constipation are discussed before starting, and older women are monitored more closely.
Clinic surgery when laxity or prolapse is the cause
Mild stress leakage often accompanies vaginal laxity and a weakened perineum after childbirth, and a descended uterus or rectocele can kink the urethra and leave urine behind. In these women Dr. Yoon's native-tissue reconstruction, which lifts and fixes the uterus, rebuilds the posterior wall and pelvic floor with two-layer suturing and strengthens the muscles at the opening with a figure-8 technique, often improves frequency, incomplete emptying and mild leakage. The anterior wall and urethra are not operated on. In the clinic's experience many women report fewer urinary symptoms after this surgery, but it is not an operation for stress incontinence on its own, and we say so clearly. See Pelvic Reconstructive Surgery and Perineoplasty.
Hospital procedures we coordinate
Moderate to severe stress incontinence that has not responded to training is usually treated with a mid-urethral sling, a short synthetic tape placed under the urethra, or with urethral bulking injections. Urge incontinence that resists bladder training and medication may be treated with percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation, botulinum toxin injections into the bladder or sacral neuromodulation. Because the clinic does not use mesh or implants, these are performed by urogynecology or urology colleagues at partner hospitals; we make the referral, share your assessment and continue your pelvic floor care afterward. Our neuromodulation page explains the nerve-stimulation options.
Anesthesia, duration and hospital stay
Conservative treatment and EMS sessions need no anesthesia. Clinic reconstructive surgery takes about 50 minutes to one hour under sedation plus long-acting local anesthesia, or local alone if you prefer, with same-day discharge once you have urinated. Sling and neuromodulation procedures follow the partner hospital's protocol, usually a short stay.
Recovery timeline
| Treatment | What to expect |
|---|---|
| Pelvic floor training / EMS | Improvement typically over 8 to 12 weeks of consistent practice; maintenance continues long term. |
| Bladder training and medication | Review after 4 to 6 weeks; adjust dose or approach. |
| Clinic reconstructive surgery | Walk and go home the same day; desk work in days; medication about 5 days; vigorous exercise at 6 weeks; intercourse after 7 to 8 weeks. |
| Hospital sling or neuromodulation | Per the treating hospital; we resume your pelvic floor follow-up afterward. |
Results and what to expect
Most women with mild stress incontinence improve substantially with correctly performed pelvic floor training, and bladder training helps most women with urgency. Slings have high success rates for stress incontinence in published series, with small risks of voiding difficulty or mesh exposure. For prolapse-related symptoms, the clinic reported a 2026 series of 150 women in which 85.3% described improved quality of life after native-tissue repair; this is the clinic's own figure and includes urinary symptoms among others. No treatment works for everyone, and some women combine two approaches.
Risks and how we reduce them
- Conservative care: minimal risk; medication may cause dry mouth, constipation or, rarely, confusion in older women, so we review early.
- Clinic surgery: bleeding, infection, rectal or cul-de-sac injury, pain with intercourse, altered sensation, recurrence and anesthesia reactions; reduced by careful measurement, shallow dissection and leaving the anterior wall untouched.
- New stress leakage after prolapse repair: occasionally a prolapse was masking leakage; we test for this beforehand and plan accordingly.
- Sling and neuromodulation procedures: carry their own risks (voiding difficulty, exposure, device problems) which the hospital team explains before consent.
Why international patients choose Somssi
You get an unhurried, English-language assessment by an OB/GYN who treats the pelvic floor as a whole rather than one symptom. The clinic has been registered with the Ministry of Health and Welfare for foreign patients since 2011 and is 100 meters from Gangnam Station Exit 1. If a hospital procedure is right for you, we help arrange it rather than leaving you to find the way. Dr. Yoon has practiced since 2000 and presented on pelvic floor dysfunction at ISSWSH 2008 and other international meetings. See international patients or contact us.
Private consultation
Talk it through with Dr. Yoon's team
English-speaking coordinators, a written treatment plan and a clear quote after your consultation. Same-day discharge for most procedures.
Mon, Tue, Wed, Fri, Sat 09:30–18:00 (KST). Closed Thu, Sun and holidays. 7F Sangkyung Building, 120 Teheran-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul.
Dr. Yoon Ho-joo, MD, PhD
OB/GYN specialist, Catholic University of Korea. Founder of Somssi Women's Clinic (2000). Published on female sexual function after reconstructive vaginal surgery; speaker at ESSM, ISSWSH, WAS and SMSNA.
Questions patients ask
Frequently asked questions
Short, honest answers. For anything personal, a consultation is the right place to ask.
Can urinary incontinence be cured without surgery?
Often, yes, when it is mild to moderate. Correct pelvic floor training improves most stress leakage, and bladder training with or without medication controls most urgency. An EMS device helps women who cannot feel the right muscles. Surgery is for leakage that remains troublesome after a proper trial of these measures.
Does vaginal tightening surgery fix incontinence?
Not reliably on its own. Reconstruction of the pelvic floor and perineum can improve frequency, incomplete emptying and mild leakage linked to laxity or prolapse, and many of our patients report that. Clear stress incontinence with coughing or running usually needs its own treatment, such as a sling, which we coordinate with a hospital partner.
Why do you not perform sling surgery at the clinic?
Slings are synthetic tapes, and the clinic's policy is to use no mesh or implants in its own procedures. Slings remain a well-established treatment, so when one is the right answer we refer you to urogynecology colleagues at a partner hospital, share your assessment and continue your pelvic floor care afterward.
Is leakage after childbirth normal?
It is common in the first months and often improves with pelvic floor exercises. Leakage that persists beyond six months, or that returns years later around menopause, deserves assessment. The pelvic floor can be strengthened at any age, and early treatment keeps more options open.
What should I bring to the first visit?
A three-day record of how often you urinate, how much you drink and when you leak is the most useful thing. Bring a list of medications, any previous urine or urodynamic test results, and notes from pelvic surgery. Come with a comfortably full bladder if we have asked for a cough test.
Will menopause make incontinence worse?
Falling estrogen thins the tissue around the urethra and bladder neck, so leakage and urgency often appear or worsen after menopause. Low-dose vaginal estrogen is safe for most women and can noticeably reduce symptoms. We discuss it alongside the other treatments.
Keep reading
Related treatments and guides
- Can Pelvic Organ Prolapse Be Treated Without Surgery? — conservative options that also help leakage
- How Do I Know If I Have Pelvic Organ Prolapse? — when bladder symptoms signal prolapse
- Pelvic Organ Prolapse Treatment in Korea for Foreigners: Complete Guide — planning care from abroad
- Pelvic Floor Disorders — the full picture of pelvic floor problems
- Neuromodulation — nerve stimulation for overactive bladder
- Perineoplasty — rebuilding the perineum after childbirth
- International patients — how we support visitors from abroad
Sources and medical review
- International Continence Society (ICS) — standardization of terminology of lower urinary tract function.
- American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) — practice guidance on urinary incontinence in women.
- International Urogynecological Association (IUGA) — patient information on stress and urge urinary incontinence.
- Te Linde's Operative Gynecology (textbook) — evaluation and surgical treatment of urinary incontinence.
Next step
A consultation first. A decision only when you are ready.
Tell us what you are experiencing and what you hope to change. Dr. Yoon examines, measures and explains the options, including when no surgery is the right answer. International patients can start with an online consultation before travelling to Seoul.
