SUFU 2008 Winter Meeting - Lumbo To Sacral Nerve Rerouting To Restore Voiding Function In Spina Bifida

Main Category: Urology / Nephrology
Also Included In: Conferences
Article Date: 16 Mar 2008 - 0:00 PDT

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UroToday.com - In spinal cord injury patients, the communication between the brain and the cord is interrupted, but the reflex arcs distal to the injury remain intact. Research by Dr. Xiao in China showed that rerouting of afferent nerves from the thigh to the efferent nerves to the bladder could results in modulation of bladder function via cutaneous stimulation of the thigh.

One challenge in applying this rerouting technique to spina bifida patients is the fact that this group of patients has incomplete development of the nerve roots to the bladder and in fact, are found to have empty nerve sheaths. Nevertheless, successful voiding has been accomplished following rerouting of lumbar afferents to sacral efferents, according to a fascinating presentation by Dr. Peters. Patients are able to initiate voiding by scratching the lateral thigh to stimulate the afferent pathway. Several patients have actually learned to void without cutaneous stimulation.

Presented by: Kenneth M. Peters, MD at the Society for Urodynamics and Female Urology (SUFU) 2008 Winter Meeting - February 28 - March 2, 2008 Miami, Florida, USA

Reported by Kathleen Kobashi, MD - Head, Section of Urology and Renal Transplantation, Co-Director of The Virginia Mason Medical Center Continence Center - Seattle, WA USA and Clinical Associate Professor of Urology at the University of Washington - Seattle, WA USA

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