Division of the External Urethral Sphincter and Potency in Spinal Cord Injury Patients

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Abstract
Endoscopic biopsy of the external urethral sphincter (internal membranous urethrotomy) was used first in England in 1956. A total of 258 patients underwent this operation for relief of outflow obstruction in the neuropathic bladder between 1956 and 1975. Recently, reports of postoperative impotence had appeared in the literature. A prospective study of 160 men undergoing division of the external urethral sphincter between 1975-1981 was done to determine if there was any effect on sexual function and to reassess the long-term results of the operation. Impotence was not documented in any of these 418 patients. This study confirms previous reports on the reliability and simplicity of the operation.