ANATOMY OF THE PELVIC NERVES AND ILEOANAL ANASTOMOSIS

The risk of sexual sequelae after proctectomy for inflammatory disease or polyposis is moderate, but real. The pelvic nerves can be easily s pared at the sites where they are most frequently damaged, i.e. anteri or to the sacral promontory and on the lateral walls of the pelvis. In contrast, damage to the cavernosal nerves situated on either side of the posterior surface of the prostate is more difficult to avoid, esse ntially because of the anatomy of these nerves is poorly understood.