Semen retrieval by penile vibratory stimulation in men with spinal cord injury

Traumatic spinal cord injury resulting from car accidents, falls, violence or sport-related activities is a common occurrence throughout the world. Sp inal cord injuries occur most often to young men in their parenting years. Among the medical challenges facing many of these men is the inability to e jaculate via sexual intercourse. To achieve biological fatherhood, their se men may be retrieved by methods of assisted ejaculation. This paper discuss es the use of penile vibratory stimulation in men with spinal cord injury a nd includes the topics: patient selection and management; proper placement and timing of stimulation; appropriate use of low-amplitude, high-amplitude or dual vibrators; and factors influencing ejaculatory success rate. Also summarized are recent data on semen quality in men with spinal cord injury. When performed properly, penile vibratory stimulation is a safe and easy m ethod of obtaining semen from anejaculatory men with spinal cord injury. Se men quality is better when obtained by penile vibratory stimulation compare d with electroejaculation, an alternative method of semen retrieval. For th ese reasons, and because of the low investment of time and money, it is rec ommended that penile vibratory stimulation be used as the first line of tre atment for anejaculation in men with spinal cord injury.