AUA 2010 - Outcomes of intraspinal nerve re-routing to re-establish bladder function in spinal cord injured patients: A single center experience - Session Highlights
Thu, 10 June 2010

SAN FRANCISCO, CA USA (UroToday.com) - While some groups have reported on remarkable success with the use of lumbosacral nerve re-routing (LSNR) for treatment of neurogenic bladder dysfunction in patients with spina bifida, the investigators in this study evaluated eight adult spinal cord injury (SCI) patients who underwent LSNR and found profoundly differing results.

The patient cohort included upper motor neuron SCI patients (C6-Th10) at a mean age of 30 years who underwent LSNR at a range of 4-288 months following their SCI with a mean follow up of 41 months (clinical) and 27 months (urodynamic), the latter in 6/8 patients. Although slight effects in bladder and bowel function were noted in some patients, no significant changes were noted in bladder sensation, catheterization frequency, or urinary incontinence. No significant difference was noted in urodynamic parameters including maximal bladder capacity, maximal detrusor pressure or presence of detrusor-sphincter dysserngia. No patients achieved the primary goal of voluntary micturition.

The authors concluded that further investigation in the field of LSNR is necessary to establish the potential for LSNR in the treatment of neurogenic bowel and bladder dysfunction.

Presented by Karl-Dietrich Sievert, Bastian Amend, Florian Roser, Marcos, Tatagiba, and Arnulf Stenzl at the American Urological Association (AUA) Annual Meeting - May 29 - June 3, 2010 - Moscone Center, San Francisco, CA USA

Reported for UroToday by Kathleen C. Kobashi, MD, Head, Section of Urology and Renal Transplantation, Virginia Mason Medical Center, Seattle, WA, USA