Contact: Lynn Odell 212-263-5488, [email protected]
NYU Hospitals Center is the leading center in the New York metropolitan area and nationwide testing a new device that helps preserve sexual potency in men under- going surgery for prostate cancer. This new device accurately locates and helps surgeons protect the nerves responsible for erectile function.
The surgical removal of the prostate, a procedure called radical prostatectomy, is one of the most effective treatments for early-stage prostate cancer, when the cancer is confined to the prostate gland. Surgery may, however, result in the loss of potency because the complex network of microscopic nerves responsible for erectile function run alongside the prostate and urethra and are difficult to locate accurately and may be cut or damaged inadvertently.
A new device, called CaverMap Surgical Aid, made by UroMed Corp. of Needham, MA, helps surgeons locate and ultimately spare the cavernous nerves, which are responsible for erections, during surgery to remove a cancerous prostate gland. Herbert Lepor, M.D., Martin Spatz Professor and Chairman of the Department of Urology at NYU School of Medicine, is the most experienced urologist in the New York metropolitan area who is testing this device as part of a nationwide, multicenter trial.
"This device is an especially useful addition to surgery, enabling surgeons to better preserve sexual potency in some cases," says Dr. Lepor. "The loss of potency has deterred many men from seeking surgical treatment for early-stage, localized prostate cancer, a remedy that would help most of them survive their cancer for many years. Now, with this device, more men will feel secure selecting this type of treatment. This is especially important in light of the fact that more men are being diagnosed with early prostate cancer as a consequence of PSA testing."
So far, Dr. Lepor has used the device in 21 study patients. It is still too early to determine the impact of the Cavermap on most patients, as it takes up to a year to regain potency. But initial experiences are encouraging. In a preliminary Canadian study recently published in the journal Urology, more than 90% patients regained erections within a year following surgery with CaverMap, compared to only about 30% of those who underwent the operation without the device.
Dr. Lepor, in collaboration with his mentor at Johns Hopkins University, Patrick Walsh, M.D., pioneered surgical techniques for removing the prostate while preserving sexual function by painstakingly mapping the neural innervation of the prostate gland. While these nerve-sparing techniques have been effective, new techniques are needed to further increase the chances that men who have their prostates removed surgically will remain sexually potent following surgery.
CaverMap guides surgeons in mapping and then preserving microscopic cavernous nerves. It consists of an electronic probe that stimulates nerves and a gauge that measures the rigidity of the penis. The device aids the surgeon's effort to spare these nerves by identifying which nerves stimulate erections during surgery to remove the prostate.
Clinical trials are now underway in six medical centers nationwide, including NYU School of Medicine, evaluating whether CaverMap can aid surgeons in locating and preserving the cavernous nerves.
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