The AdVance™ Male Sling System was created by two urologists practicing in Innsbruck Austria, Drs. Christian Gozzi and Peter Rehder. The idea came to them while deciding what to do with a male patient who had severe pelvic damage as a result from gunshot injuries.

The man was not a good candidate for an InVance® Male Sling due to the extent of damage and refused an AUS. They had been wondering about the possibilities of performing a transobturator sling procedure on a male for some time and this patient provided the opportunity to test their hypothesis. The patient agreed and a prototype device was implanted.

The man saw a dramatic decrease in his incontinence which gave Drs. Gozzi and Rehder courage to further develop their idea. Twenty patients were subsequently implanted with the prototype device. In 2004, Drs. Gozzi and Rehder partnered with American Medical Systems to optimize the surgical mesh, needles and procedure, the result of which was the AdVance Male Sling system.

While AMS does not have an abundance of peer reviewed data available yet, two studies are underway, and the preliminary experiences of the centers are very promising. Additional information can be found under Articles and Summaries.