title: Changes in the sexual behavior of couples after prostatectomy. A prospective study.
abstract: Sexual behavior after prostatectomy was observed in 90 couples, with a follow-up of 3-6 years. Retropubic prostatectomy was performed on 53 patients (58.7%), transvesical prostatectomy on 12 patients (13.7%), and transurethral prostatectomy on 25 patients (27.7%). In order to have a reliable figure of the sexual behavior after surgery, all the couples underwent personal interviews separately before and 3-6 years after surgery. The interview included 4 main subjects: erection allowing sexual intercourse; antegrade ejaculation; orgasm, and libido. The separate identical double interviews were performed in order to achieve a high reliability in answer to sexual performance, this being the main unsolved question in previous studies. The results of the interviews were assessed by a computer-processing program and statistically analyzed. Our results imply that prostatectomy has an unfavorable influence on sexual activity: 33% of the potent preoperative patients became impotent after surgery.
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D007172:Erectile Dysfunction / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011468:Prostatectomy / Q000009:adverse effects*; D012725:Sexual Behavior