Thanks to an operation, men who were born with spina bifida and have no sensation in their penis can have this restored. This is possible by connecting a nerve that usually goes to the groin to the nerve ending that goes to the scrotum. Doctors from UMC Utrecht, led by pediatric urologist Dr Tom de Jong and plastic surgeon Prof. Moshe Kon, have successfully performed this operation in three young men of 17, 18, and 21 years of age. They described the results of these operations in the September issue of the Journal of Urology. All three of the men say they are satisfied with the results of the operation. Although touching the penis at first feels as if it is the groin being touched, this improves quickly. After a few months, the men have sensation in their scrotum. The sexual functioning and activity of the three men is increasing significantly, and they are more satisfied with their sex lives.
Both spinal cord lesions and spina bifida can cause a lack or absence of sensation in the penis. The spinal cord and spinal column is not well developed in children born with spina bifida. This occurs in around 4.5 out of every 10,000 births. These men find it frustrating that although they can have an erection and ejaculate, they usually do not feel any of this. This corrective operation has already been performed on fifteen men with spina bifida or a spinal cord lesion; in twelve of these men the sensation in the penis returned completely. The operations are being performed in the Dutch town of Zwolle as the
doctoral research of plastic surgeon Max Overgoor.
For more information, please contact: UMC Utrecht, Internal and External Communication
Poppy Soen or Annette Aarts, tel.: +31 (0)88 75 574 83