Health Organization for Pudendal Education

Here are the addresses for the Nantes Team of Doctors:

Dr Riant. Pain Specialist and Anesthesist - NERVE BLOCKS
Centre Catherine De Sienne,
Unite de d’evaluation et Traitement de la Douleur,
2, Rue Eric Tabarly,
44200 Nantes,
France.

Prof Roger Robert. Neurosurgeon - MULTI DISCIPLINARY MEETING
Clinique De Neurotraumatologie,
CHU Nantes,
Hotel Dieu,
1, Place Alexis Ricordeau,
44093 Nantes,
Cedex 1.
FRANCE.

Dr J.J. Labat. Neurologist & Urologist - PNMLT
Cabinet Neurologie,
25, Rue Mauvoisins,
44100 Nantes,
France.

Hi All,

I am looking to set up a consultation with the Nantes group for surgery for my relative who has severe pudendal neuralgia refractory to medication and CT guided nerve blocks. Is there anyone who knows the process for contacting the group?

1) Is there a coordinator or should I write to Dr. Robert directly?

2) I undertand he does not use email so will have to use regular mail. Can the letter be in English or does it need to be in French?

3) Does anyone have a rough idea of how long the process takes?

Thanks! If anyone can help, please PM me or reply on the board.
DrRad

Hi Dr Rad

There are many ways to get in contact with the doctors in Nantes; however it depends on where your patient is located.
If you are based in the UK then you can try to contact JudyB who coordinates appointment for patients. She is based in the UK and can be contacted via www.pelvicpain.org.

You can also write to the Doctors directly, in either French or English; if you speak French then it would be easier and quicker to telephone the CHU Nantes and speak to Prof Robert's Secretary.

They are usually well booked up in advance, so it may take some months to organise appointments.

Does anyone know the cost of having surgery done in France? Are the surgerys there the best in the world or are there doctors in the United States that are just as good?

Alan,
Dr. Robert is the cheapest by far if you're paying cash (under 10k all together is my guess-others can provide more exact figures). Dr. Robert is the one who taught Dr. Michael Hibner in Phoenix and Dr. Lee Ansell in Houston how to do the pudendal decompression surgery. Usually American insurance is more likely to cover American doctors but sometimes they are exceptions.
Dr. Hibner preserves the sacrotuberous ligament with a graft and we have had big debates on this forum is that is necessary. Dr. Robert and Dr. Ansell don't do this. Dr. Lee Dellon in Baltimore also severs the STL. He is expensive an out of network for all insurance. I believe Dr. Conway in New Hampshire uses a variation involving windowing the STL vertically to access the pudendal nerve. Anyway, if you decide on surgery, you have to pick a doctor. There is a long wait for Dr. Hibner, less for the other doctors.There is lots of info on all these doctors on the forum.

Best Wishes,

Don

donstore wrote:Dr. Hibner preserves the sacrotuberous ligament with a graft and we have had big debates on this forum is that is necessary.

Well, he never preserved it with a graft, he replaced it with a smaller piece of tissue than had been there. However we now see he's moved on to copy what Dr. Antolak is doing, which is to cut into the ST ligament, decompress the nerve, and sew the ligament back up so that it remains preserved in place. Hope this helps.

[/quote] Well, he never preserved it with a graft, he replaced it with a smaller piece of tissue than had been there..[/quote]

I'm not sure I understand your statement Celeste. Dr. Hibner would cut the ST ligament and then add a piece of gracilis tendon to each end to try and make it like a one piece ligament again. To me that isn't replacing it with tissue that had been.

When I had my surgery with Dr. Hibner about 3.5 weeks ago he told me each case will be different regarding whether he can suture the ST ligament back together or whether an individual would get a graft. Each case will be determined in the OR.

Does anyone know how to contact Dr. Riant by e-mail?

Thanks,

Violet

I have been to Nantes 2 times where professor Robert performed 2 surgeries on my pudendal nerve I will be going to see him again in afew weeks. It is a very hard problem to resolve. I have discussed with him what I want him to do which is inserting a tube to the area where the nerve is open and then drop via the tube a cocktail of mess to numb the area.
I have also started last week a stem cell therapy which just came out and hope it will build the sheath over my nerve.

Any one interested can call me in the us Beverly Hills ..my cell is 818 -941-8700. My best to all..gabriel

Here is Dr Riant's e address Violet
riant.thibault@catherinedesienne.fr. He did reply to my enquiry (and on a Sunday!) then said his secretary would contact me to arrange a consultation, unfortunately I heard no more and still need to pursue it.
That sounds very cutting edge gabriel.
I know that Dr Tibet uses Omental Flaps (a mass of tissue for grafting, usually including skin, only partially removed from one part of the body so that it retains its own blood supply during transfer to another site.) around the nerve, in his robotic laparoscopic surgery.
Would you say that your surgeries were effective gabrielle? Sorry I don't know your story.
Take care,
Helen