In late January, Teodora (Tia) Schellato, DO, FACOS, was honored with Medtronic's Center of Excellence designation for her usage and success with the InterStim™ Therapy device, a treatment option for patients looking for more than medication to treat their symptoms of overactive bladder. With this recognition, Dr. Schellato is now the only physician in the Philadelphia region to receive this designation from Medtronic.

“It’s truly an honor to be recognized as a Center of Excellence by Medtronic,” said Dr. Schellato. “The InterStim™ technology can be life-changing for those who experience overactive bladder, urinary retention and fecal incontinence, and I am thrilled to be able provide this safe and effective treatment for my patients.”

To earn her Center of Excellence designation, Dr. Schellato met the following criteria:

• Completing more than 100 lifetime implants
• Implementing a care pathway
• Achieving greater than 3% advance therapy penetration including PTNS, BOTOX and SNS
• Utilizing optimal lead technique using both bony landmarks and x-ray 

InterStim™ Therapy is FDA approved to treat urgency, frequency, urge urinary incontinence, urinary retention and fecal incontinence. This procedure is minimally invasive and is administered in a two-step process. The external stimulator sends a mild impulse down to the sacral nerves, which innervates the bladder and pelvic floor allowing for patients to regain control of their urinary or fecal symptoms.

Once a patient has met a 50% improvement in their baseline symptoms, they then become a candidate for the InterStim™ device. The device is a neurostimulator that continues to stimulate the nerves of the bladder to provide patients with long term relief. 

Dr. Schellato is also a proctor for InterStim™. She gives lectures and provides hands-on training in the OR for residents and other physicians to learn how to complete the procedure.

“I’ve been lucky enough to work with Medtronic and its products since my residency, and I feel fortunate that I am able to share my expertise with those around me to provide the best possible care to all patients.”

In August of 2020, Dr. Schellato became the first urologist in Pennsylvania to use the InterStim™ II system with SureScanTM MRI technology for non-rechargeable MRI safe lead.

In addition to treating overactive bladder, Dr. Schellato’s urologic interests include comprehensive female health, female urology, sexual health, voiding dysfunction, and urodynamics. She treats an array of disorders including pelvic organ prolapse, urinary incontinence, urinary tract infections, interstitial cystitis, bladder cancer, kidney cancer, and prostate cancer.

Dr. Schellato practices at MidLantic Urology’s Philadelphia care office at Jeanes Hospital.