Half the people undergoing a fusion operation are men. This specific concern is from the anterior approach through the abdomen to expose the spine. In a small percentage of males this results in retrograde ejaculation. This complication occurs in less than 1% of patients and does not mean the man cannot have an erection and orgasm, it just means he does not have the normal amount of semen and may be sterile. In young men about to undergo an anterior approach to the spine, it may be advisable to donate sperm in case this rare side effect would occur.
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Men and women both have excellent results from surgery, depending on the individual condition and surgical procedure. A certain type of anterior surgery carries the uniquely male risk of retrograde ejaculation in 2%. Even this complication can be minimized with certain surgical techniques.
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Fusion surgery that is performed through the stomach can lead to retrograde ejaculation. This means you may lose your ability to eject sperm during orgasm. Young men who undergo fusion surgery through the stomach may want to have their sperm saved in a sperm bank before surgery.
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Anterior fusion surgery in men does care a risk of retrograde ejaculation. That is a sexual dysfunction where the ejaculate does not come out the end of the penis but rather goes back into the bladder. This can render a male unable to reproduce without exceptional means such as artificial insemination. This is a rare complication occurring less than 5% of the time.
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No. Some approaches to the spine have a small risk of retrograde ejaculation or impotence.
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The only additional risk to men who undergo spinal surgery is related to those who elect to have a procedure that involves an anterior approach, i.e., from the front. An extremely small percentage of those patients will have sexual dysfunction after surgery. Surgery done from the back does not present this risk. Your surgeon will consider this risk when helping you make a decision about surgery of your low back.
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This is not true.
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NO! I do not know where this information is derived.
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No. Thousands of men undergo successful fusion operations each year. The risks of having a posterior spinal fusion are similar to the risks for women. The main concern for men is during an anterior spinal fusion. During this type of surgery, there is a small risk of injuring a group of nerves that control ejaculation, causing semen to be redirected into the bladder and cause infertility. This risk can be reduced by using a retroperitoneal approach and limiting the amount of electrocautery used. Male patients should discuss this risk with their surgeon, and consider pre-operative sperm storage or a posterior fusion if they are considering having children in the future.
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No.
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No. Though there is a possibility of retro-grade ejaculation with surgical approaches through the abdomen.
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No. There is an additional risk for men during any surgery involving the abdomen. When an anterior fusion is performed on male, there is a small chance that the nerve that controls ejaculation can be damaged, resulting in retrograde ejaculation. If this occurs, the patient will still be able to become erect and orgasm, but will not produce semen.
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I don't see any reason why men should not have spinal fusion surgery. Men have the same problems as women. The treatments for men and women are the same. There are different approaches as we mentioned before to spine surgery, and there are some that men may want to avoid.
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No, men can have spinal fusions the same as women.
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The issue with men has to do with surgery on the front of the spine where the small nerves run that control the ability for normal ejaculation during sexual activity. There is a 5% chance that these nerves may be damaged during routine surgery on the spine performed through an abdominal approach and so men who are still trying to have a family should be aware of this rare complication. It is related to the surgical exposure, not the fusion itself. One approach is to bank sperm before such surgery as a precaution.
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When the fusion is performed anteriorly, or through the abdomen, men have a risk of a potential problem called retrograde ejaculation. This is usually a temporary problem, which acts similar to a vasectomy, meaning they can still have an erection, intercourse and an orgasm, but they may be sterile. That has to do with the anterior fusion surgery. The rate of this occurring is much lower then it used to be, as most surgeons who do anterior surgery do not use an electric cautery. The likelihood of getting a permanent retrograde ejaculation as a result from anterior surgery is no more than maybe two to four percent.
Otherwise, I know of no reason from a mechanical standpoint that a man should not have a fusion just because of the spine mechanics.
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No. Some approaches to the spine have a small risk of retrograde ejaculation or impotence.
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I don't think this is true. There are thousands of fusions performed in men every year in the United States. It is true that we try to avoid anterior lumbar fusions in men that are at a reproductive age because this can cause, especially on L4-L5 and L5-S1, retrograde ejaculation by damaging the presacral plexus.
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