Patrick C. Walsh

Contested

EAU Today presents nerve-sparing prostatectomy as partly a European discovery and stresses Donker's role; the anatomy was found by the two men together.

What the film says

• A patient's return of potency in 1977 set him wondering where the nerves of erection ran.

  Watch 54:35 in the film IX. The Gland That Stands Before

• With Donker in Leiden in February 1981, found the nerves outside the prostate; performed the first nerve-sparing operation on 26 April 1982.

  Watch 55:40 in the film IX. The Gland That Stands Before

On the timeline

• 1974: Walsh arrives at Johns Hopkins; the course of the cavernous nerves is not known. timeline
• March 1977: Walsh meets Pieter Donker at a dinner during an international conference. timeline
• 1977: A patient of Walsh reports that his potency returned after radical prostatectomy. timeline
• 13 February 1981: In Leiden, Walsh and Donker trace the nerves of erection running outside the prostate. timeline
• 1982: Walsh and Donker publish 'Impotence following radical prostatectomy: insight into etiology and prevention' (J Urol 128:492). timeline
• 26 April 1982: Walsh performs the first operation designed to spare the nerves, at Johns Hopkins. timeline
• 1982 to 1992: At Johns Hopkins, the share of men in their fifties choosing surgery is reported to rise from 7% to 70%. probable timeline

Sources