Innervation of parasympathetic postganglionic neurons and bladder detrusor muscle directly after sacral root transection and repair using nerve transfer

This study investigates how different nerve repair techniques affect the regrowth of nerves to the bladder after injury. The research focuses on whether the pattern of nerve regrowth to the bladder differs depending on the surgical method used to reconnect or transfer nerves. The findings show that reattaching the original nerve or using different nerves leads to both the nerve cells in the bladder wall and the bladder muscle itself being re-connected.

• 1
  Reinnervation of the bladder, regardless of the nerve source, results in innervation of both intramural ganglia and direct innervation of the detrusor muscle.
• 2
  Coccygeal nerve transfer (CG NT) leads to a preferential direct reinnervation of bladder detrusor muscle compared to genitofemoral nerve transfer (GF NT).
• 3
  Sham operated controls showed PGP9.5 immunostained small axons directly innervating detrusor muscle, none of which were DiI labeled.