Diagnostic and interventional magnetic resonance neurography diagnosis of brachytherapy seed-mediated pudendal nerve injury: a case report

Injury to the pudendal nerve in men presents with pain, paresthesia, or numbness of the perineum, and/or scrotum, and/or penis. There is evidence implicating the brachytherapy seeds used to treat prostate cancer as source of pudendal nerve injury. Compared to surgical prostatectomy, brachytherapy has the advantage of being less invasive, but seeds may not only lead to well-established complications such as urinary, bowel, and erectile dysfunction, but also injury to the sensory branches of the pudendal nerve. We report and document a case of pudendal nerve injury secondary to brachytherapy seeds diagnosed with magnetic resonance (MR) neurography, nerve blocks, and histopathological examination; and successful treatment via sensory branch neurectomy.