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Re: Re: Re: Nerve repair/regeneration following surgery
Molly,
I agree with you when you say “I could be wrong, but I feel that not enough people are speaking out about this issue and I understand that it is a very private issue and perhaps not one easily discussed by those affected.” although the relative anonymity of the Internet has helped to ease the discussions.
But I also believe that one of the biggest issues is the “divide and conquer” problem that arises from so many members of the medical profession implying that men who are concerned about erectile dysfunction are in a minority. Combined with the throwaway line ”Dead men don’t have erections” men feel that they have just been unlucky in the side effects while being fortunate that their tumour was discovered early and that they have been ‘saved’.
Although I accept that many of the men who do discuss their erectile issues may not be representative of all the men who have had treatment (on the basis that the men who have no problems may not get involved in any discussion) I still am inclined to the view that there are significantly more men with severe problems than are shown in published studies. Those show the results from centres where a very high number of procedures are carried out by teams that are likely to include the very best surgeons and radiologists. But these teams of excellence cannot treat all the men who choose to have treatment – and they are left to the less skilled, less experienced operators who almost certainly cannot claim the morbidity rates of the teams of excellence.
And of course, it is not only the question of erectile dysfunction that is at issue. Whilst most men are aware of the danger of losing the ability of retaining their erectile ability, very few are aware of the issue of leakage of urine following surgery or the increased risk of Peyronie’s disease, where the penis becomes bent when erected. Yet these, and other, side effects are real, and they occur more frequently than they are reported.
