I had a L5 S1 Discectomy in 2002 after suffering for a long time. I am left with numbness in my right buttock, down the outside of right upper leg and knee all my calf, heel and foot into my three little toes. I also have ED problems. I suffer constant back pain and ultra sensitivity on the outside of my right foot that drives me to distraction. I am 60 years old, is this "my lot" for the rest of my days?
Please Help
I had L4/5, L5/S1 Fusion with Hardware in February, 2006. Every thing was going fine and in July I started have problems with incontenance. I reported this to my Spine Surgeon, he sent me to a Urologist. We started talking about the problems I was having and ED was brought up. I was embarrased to talk about it, I'm 42 now, I have not had an errection for over 19 months. I am trying to get a Spinal Cord Stimulator to relieve some of the Chronic Pain I Have in my Low Back, Buttocks, Hips and both legs. I am gettin worse. I have lost control of my bladder, I wet the bed, that is embarassing and I have tried all of the ED Medications (Prescription) and I went as far as Enzyte, NOTHING! Is it possible that the SCS could restore me back to at least Bladder control, or maybe as much as reversing the ED so I can feel like a MAN again! All of this happened at work, I had a fusion at L5/S1, I was pushing a building that should have been moved with a fork-lift, I bent 1 stainless steel bolt and bent one of the Steffe Fusion plates, Broke the 13 Year old Fusion and Exploded the disc at L4/L5. I 'm sure this is permanant and I will have to be less of a man for the rest of my Life. Do you have any suggestions?
Thank You,
myshadow
Hello Sir,
The foley cathetar used in the surgery is extremely unlikely to cause nerve damage to the nerves which control erectile function which are the pelvic splanchnic plexus, the hypogastric plexus and the cavernosal nerves. All of these are located outside the prostate, and the foley passes from the urethral meatus directly into the bladder without ever coming close to these nerves, so it is extremely unlikely that the cathetar caused this. It is more likely that during the surgery, if the neurosurgeon was operating around S1, therefore S2,3,4 could have been affected as a result of post-operative changes and those do in fact have autonomic nervous function and could affect erections adversely. Right now is still early after surgery to make a clear cut determination, waiting is a good idea, but after a few more weeks, some function should improve, if not then a more formal workup should begin, including penile duplex ultrasounds and other tests as well.
Thanks!