Nerve-sparing surgery is a type of surgery that attempts to save the

nerves A nerve is an enclosed, cable-like bundle of nerve fibers (called axons) in the peripheral nervous system. A nerve transmits electrical impulses. It is the basic unit of the peripheral nervous system. A nerve provides a common pathway for the e ...

near the tissues being removed. It is commonly applied in

radical retropubic prostatectomy Radical retropubic prostatectomy is a surgical procedure in which the prostate gland is removed through an incision in the abdomen (in comparison with perineal prostatectomy, done through the perineum). It is most often used to treat individual ...

, a surgical treatment for prostate cancer, in which damage to nerves during surgery can lead to complications including urinary incontinence and impotence. In nerve-sparing radical prostatectomy, initially developed by Dr. Patrick Walsh in the 1980s, surgeons identify and attempt to avoid damaging the nerves. Surgeons may visually identify the

cavernous nerves of penis The cavernous nerves are post-ganglionic parasympathetic nerves that facilitate penile erection and clitoral erection. They arise from cell bodies in the inferior hypogastric plexus where they receive the pre-ganglionic pelvic splanchnic ner ...

or apply an electrical stimulation

penile plethysmograph Penile plethysmography (PPG) or phallometry is measurement of blood flow to the penis, typically used as a proxy for measurement of sexual arousal. The most commonly reported methods of conducting penile plethysmography involve the measurement of ...

diagnostic test to verify the nerves, and so avoid damaging them. The bilateral approach attempts to spare the nerves on both sides of the prostate. The unilateral approach is specific to one side, usually because the prostate cancer has spread to prevent a bilateral nerve sparing approach; studies suggest that this approach leads to better results than non-nerve-sparing surgery, but that patient age and previous erectile function have a significant influence on post-operative results.

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Surgery {{surgery-stub