Impotency caused by cavernosal nerve injury is a devastating complication of radical prostatectomy. Despite restoring erectile function following cavernosal nerve section in animal models, cavernosal nerve repair has not been adopted clinically, due to1) perceived and practical difficulties,2) reluctance to destroy healthy tissue innervation to provide autograft material, and3) secondary operations required to remove nonbioresorbable prostheses.Without alternatives to standard clinical nerve repair methods, it is unlikely that sectioned cavernosal nerves will be repaired during radical prostatectomy. The successful application of the collagen-based none guide to cavernosal nerve repair will allow the development of an entirely novel clinical procedure, Bioresorbable collagen-based nerve guide repair of cavernosal nerve deficits will be examined in 60 rats. Bilateral section and repair by tither nerve guide tube or nerve graft will be followed at 2 and 4 months in each animal by behavioral studies, providing categorical "all or nothing" assessments of functional recovery. They are crucial, as successfully restorating sexual potency is the fundamental purpose of cavernosal nerve repair. II. Physiological tumescence studies, demonstrating the continuum of functional recovery following reinnervation. III. Histological analysis, quantifying axon regeneration through the repair sites and maturation of remyelination.National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
