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Just something I have always questioned and never gotten an informative answer about. This is a question that the medical folks seem to think is immaterial and not worth a good explanation I guess, as I have never gotten a straight answer on it. During a prostatectomy the "dorsal venous complex" is severed and sealed to prevent bleeding. Why? - I am told "because it is in the way." I wonder what parts of me this vein complex serves and what the effect of eliminating it will have on what little I will have left after the surgery. The answer- "It supplies the skin." So I am wondering, what skin?, but too shy to ask for further definition. Whatever it does - or did - it is not restored so it can do whatever it was doing before the operation. Now I am wondering if this is just another piece of collateral damage considered by the medical industry to be too minor and time consuming to correct after removing the prostate. After this surgery and my heart surgery, it seems to me they place more importance on their time and efficiency than they do on a patient's quality outcome and results.
Anyway, since blood is so important to this part of the male anatomy, I am very concerned of the results when they start to eliminate major blood vessels in this area and not bother to reconnect them. Does anyone have a good knowledge and layman's understanding of what this "dorsal venous complex" does (or did) for us? If so, please enlighten me. Jon R.
