One of the interesting exchanges I observed at SAS in Miami was during a Q&A panel discussion after one of the lumbar ADR session. A surgeon came up to the microphone and while framing a question about retrograde ejaculation said something like, "What do you tell your patients regarding retrograde ejaculation? Do you have them use a sperm bank? My experience is that if you tell them a 2% chance exists, they will NOT believe it can happen to them. I tell them, 'What if you are in the 2%'?" This was more of a lesson for the audience than a question. He was trying to let everyone know that they should actively try to get males who may want children in the future, to take seriously the risk of RE and use a sperm bank. 2% is not never.
Risks can be small, but they can still happen to you. As a nurse, working on a busy surgical floor for many years, I've seen many post-op complications - some small, some major - and NOT always in the patients with the highest risk factors. We wish we never had to have surgery, but sometimes it's necessary, in spite of the risks that we must accept.
Diane
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RN - never a back problem until May 2007
Endoscopic discectomy L5-S1, Dr. Hoogland, AlphaKlinik, Munich, Germany - July 2007
2-level (L4-S1) ProDisc ADR, Dr. Bertagnoli, Bogen, Germany - March 2008
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