Introduction

About The Spanner
The Spanner™ temporary prostatic stent has been designed to open the prostatic urethra and allow patients to maintain urine flow and allow volitional voiding by reducing urethral resistance within the prostate. As shown in the figure to the right the Spanner has a proximal balloon which is seated in the bladder neck to properly position the stent in the prostatic urethra. The stent extends from the bladder to just above the external sphincter. Device tethers (suture material) traverse the external sphincter to allow normal sphincter function, thus providing patients the ability to volitionally void. The distal anchor of the device is positioned in the bulbar urethra, just below the sphincter, to prevent device movement and migration into the bladder.

Spanner Placement
The Spanner is inserted and positioned tactilely using a detachable introducer (no cystoscopy required). The Spanner has been designed for administration in the office setting with use of a numbing agent for patient comfort.

Spanner Removal
The stent is removed using the retrieval tether (retrieval suture), which provides for the deflation of the balloon and withdrawal of the stent.

How Provided
The stent and introducer are provided together in a sterile package. The Spanner is currently available in 20F diameter, four sizes (5, 6, 7 and 8 cm) with a coudé-tip. Spanner size selection is enabled by the use of an accessory, the Surveyor™ urethral measurement device. The Surveyor is designed to assess the length of the urethra from the bladder neck to the bottom side of the external sphincter in order to select the appropriate Spanner size. (click here for more info on the Surveyor)

For a description from the American Urological Association of Minimally Invasive Management of BPH visit www.urologyhealth.org - MIT.