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PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
3
pubmed:dateCreated
1992-10-22
pubmed:abstractText
Erectile dysfunction is a significant complication of radical pelvic surgery in men. Using the rat as an experimental model, we investigated the feasibility of repairing surgically ablated cavernosal nerves. Known fertile male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into three surgical groups of 30 animals (60 study nerves) per group consisting of nerve ablation, immediate nerve reconstruction, and control groups. The nerve ablation group had 5-mm sections of the cavernosal nerve excised bilaterally. The nerve graft group had 5-mm sections of the cavernosal nerve excised bilaterally, followed by immediate microsurgical reconstruction with an autologous interposition nerve graft utilizing the ipsilateral genitofemoral nerve bilaterally. The anastomoses were performed with 10-O nylon sutures at 16 to 25x magnification. The control group underwent sham operations with the cavernosal nerves being exposed only. Erectile function was evaluated at 1, 2, 4, and 6 months postoperatively. Return of erectile function was defined as tumescence of the corporal bodies with application of direct electrical stimulation (3 V of 5 msec pulses at 20 Hertz) to the proximal cavernosal nerves. The 4- and 6-month electrical stimulation studies resulted in tumescence from 65 and 75% of the grafted nerves, which represented a significant difference compared to the ablated group 11 and 5%, respectively (P less than 0.001 at 4 and 6 months). Behavioral copulatory studies, performed prior to electrical stimulation testing, corresponded closely with the results of electrically induced tumescence. We conclude that in this experimental model immediate nerve graft repair appears to be a successful method of salvaging erectile function when the cavernosal nerves have been divided.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Sep
pubmed:issn
0022-4804
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
53
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
280-6
pubmed:dateRevised
2003-11-14
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
1992
pubmed:articleTitle
Microsurgical nerve graft repair of the ablated cavernosal nerves in the rat.
pubmed:affiliation
Division of Urology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article