More recently there has been interest in using EE for other populations with anejaculation.
The authors report their large experience with EEJ using an electrical stimulator and rectal probe approved for patient use. The equipment includes a temperature indicator and automatically shuts off when a pre-set temperature is reached.
In addition to 480 SCI patients, ejaculate was obtained using EEJ from 7 men with multiple sclerosis, 17 with diabetes mellitus, 5 with spina bifida, 44 with anejaculation following retroperitoneal lymph node dissection, and 37 with idiopathic anejaculation. Ejaculate was obtained from 100% of patients, of whom 92% had sperm in the ejaculate. Ejaculate can be antegrade and/or retrograde. Retrograde ejaculate was obtained by flushing the bladder following the procedure. No adverse effects were reported.
This report provides further support for the use of EEJ to obtain ejaculate in patients with an increasingly wide variety of etiologies of anejaculation. The success rate was very high and the theoretical risk of thermal injury to the rectum was not borne out in any cases.
The role of EEJ will likely continue to expand to other indications and patient populations. For example, at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center there is a growing experience with EEJ use for cryopreservation of ejaculate prior to treatment in cancer patients who are unable or unwilling to masturbate due to age or religious beliefs (unpublished data).
Presented by S. Seager and L. Halstead at the American Urological Association (AUA) Annual Meeting - May 14 - 19, 2011 - Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington, DC USA
Reported for UroToday by Doron S. Stember, MD
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