Walsh has criticized sural nerve grafting, contending that it encourages people to damage or remove nerves unnecessarily.

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Now a procedure called sural nerve grafting is gaining in popularity for its ability to make surgery a more sex-life-friendly choice.

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The cavernosal nerve itself is made up of tiny little fibers, while the sural nerve more resembles a cable, making fusing them together difficult.

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Elkwood and Tobin use new collagen nerve tubes as fasteners, tucking the fibers of the stringy cavernosal nerve into the tube for easier connection to the sural nerve.

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In one Baylor study of 66 potent men who had one nerve severed and regrafted, the estimated potency rate after two years was 86%, compared with 39% for a control group who had no sural nerve graft.

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Sural nerve grafting is a tricky procedure.

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By taking a piece of the sural nerve--a long, straight stretch of nerve that runs alongside the back of the calf and ankle--and stitching it into the pelvis between the severed cavernosal nerves, surgeons say they are able to preserve erectile function in patients who have had one or both nerves severed.

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