EXPERIENCE AND RECENT CONTRIBUTIONS IN SACRAL NERVE STIMULATION FOR VOIDING IN BOTH HUMAN AND ANIMAL1

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Abstract
SUMMARY: Preliminary investigations on sixty‐four dogs and five human paraplegics in the past three years have led to the location of neural trigger points, which in the human were found to be the third and fourth sacral nerves at their exit from the sacral foramina anteriorly. Successful voiding was induced with reproducible results for four to five months using an electrical current about 80 to 100 times smaller than the one used for stimulation of the muscle directly.An interesting by‐product of this chronic stimulation led to the discovery of a neural trigger point which, when stimulated, causes immediate and sustained erection of the penis in paraplegic patients. We plan to try our methods in cases of impotence caused by a nerve lesion proximal to the point of electrical nerve excitation.The present work consists mainly in improving our surgical approach in the human and designing electrodes of special configuration with material well insulated. The electronic exciting mechanism is also being developed in miniature size for prolonged use. Special precautions are being developed to minimise as much as possible the inflammatory reaction of nerve tissue to the electrodes.

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