El. Koldewijn et al., BLADDER COMPLIANCE AFTER POSTERIOR SACRAL ROOT RHIZOTOMIES AND ANTERIOR SACRAL ROOT STIMULATION, The Journal of urology, 151(4), 1994, pp. 955-960
To evaluate the effects of central detrusor denervation on bladder com
pliance, we studied 27 patients with complete suprasacral spinal cord
injury in whom intradural posterior sacral root rhizotomies from S2 to
S5 in combination with implantation of an intradural Finetech-Brindle
y bladder stimulator were performed. All patients initially presented
with detrusor hyperreflexia. A majority of these patients had a decrea
sed bladder compliance 5 days postoperatively followed by a rapid incr
ease in bladder compliance thereafter. All patients showed persistent
detrusor areflexia after long-term followup. In 2 patients incomplete
posterior sacral rhizotomies appeared to be performed. These patients
had low bladder compliance, so that secondary posterior sacral root rh
izotomies at the level of the conus medullaris were done. Intradural r
hizotomies of all posterior sacral root components from S2 to S5 in co
mbination with implantation of an anterior sacral root stimulator is a
safe and effective procedure in spinal cord injury patients.