The Urologic clinics of North America
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Urol. Clin. North Am. · Aug 1993
ReviewElectrical stimulation of sacral roots for micturition after spinal cord injury.
In patients with suprasacral spinal cord injury, electrical stimulation of the sacral anterior nerve roots can produce micturition with low residual volumes of urine and reduced urinary tract infection. Voiding pressures can be maintained at acceptable levels by selective peripheral neurotomy and myotomy or, more commonly, by an intermittent pattern of stimulation. Occasionally, external sphincterotomy is required. ⋯ Penile erection is produced in a substantial proportion of male patients. The procedure has now been applied in about 700 patients with spinal cord injury, some of whom have been followed for nearly 15 years. The nerves do not appear to be damaged by long-term stimulation, and technical faults with the equipment are now uncommon.