One shot, the other one normal, healthy, intact

[Hugh]

Since there's a left pudendal nerve and a right pudendal nerve, I wonder if any of you know to be true what I read on the Internet about one of these nerves being totally shot and useless and the other one fine, healthy, functioning and intact. I read a question posed in a neurology forum where someone asked this: if one is shot and useless and the other one is fine, normal, working, intact, does the healthy, intact, normal one provide full control of and full functioning of bowel, bladder and sex organs. The named neurologist who answered this said he thought that the sound, working pudendal nerve would provide for adequate control of and adequate functioning of sex organs, bladder and bowel.

Do any of you know this to be so?

[calluna]

I think I might have some input here. I know that the damage, insult, whatever - has happened to the left pudendal nerve. I know this because when immediately after the surgery that started it all, I was completely numb in the left pudendal distribution and the right side had normal sensation. So I do fit this picture - one nerve with something rather wrong going on, the other one normal and unaffected.

However I now have pain both sides. I'm told this isn't because anything has physically happened to the nerve on the right side, but rather because of generally raised levels of neural activity in the area. Crosstalk, if you will. I have basically normal control and functioning of bowel, bladder and sex organs, although I do seem to be developing some problems with urinary incontinence and also difficulty urinating, paradoxically. And, of course, I now have PGAD, which definitely isn't normal.

Until these problems started, my situation was as this neurologist described.

[Violet M]

My understanding is that the reason Hibner performs surgery on just one side at a time is to prevent incontinence so I'm assuming he expects the other side would take over if one side was too badly damaged during surgery. I read a study once that concluded there is a dominant side like you have a left and right hand but that doesn't mean if one side was damaged the other couldn't take over.