The 5-year functional outcomes after radical prostatectomy: a real-life experience in Korea.
We investigated the functional outcomes regarding erectile function and urinary continence up to 5 years following radical prostatectomy (RP) in a cohort of Korean men. We retrospectively analyzed the clinicopathologic data of 85 Korean men who received open uni- or bilateral nerve-sparing RP for clinically localized prostate cancer and were followed up for at least 5 years postoperatively. From medical records, patients' status regarding urinary and erectile function at baseline and postoperative followups after RP was assessed. At 24 and 60 months after RP, proportions of subjects continent (no pads used) were 89.4% and 97.6%, respectively (P = 0.007). Excluding subjects (n = 24) who preoperatively reported having severe erectile dysfunction or lacked relevant informations, proportions of subjects capable of having vaginal intercourse regardless of erectile aid usage were 47.5% and 37.7% at 24 and 60 months from RP, respectively (P = 0.022). Patient's age at surgery (P = 0.047) and salvage radiation therapy (P = 0.026) were observed to be significant predictors of having erections sufficient for intercourse at 60 months from RP in multivariate analysis. Our results showed that while patients' postoperative status regarding urinary continence at 2 years from RP is generally maintained or improved at 5 year point, erectile function was observed to significantly declined from 2 years to 5 years following RP. Such decline in erectile function following RP may be more significant among men who were relatively older at surgery or those who received salvage therapy during postoperative follow-ups.
Hong
Sung Kyu
SK
Department of Urology, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Kyunggi-do 463-707, Korea.
Doo
Seung Hwan
SH
Kim
Dae Sung
DS
Lee
Won Ki
WK
Park
Hong Zoo
HZ
Park
Ji Hyun
JH
Jeong
Seong Jin
SJ
Yoon
Cheol Yong
CY
Byun
Seok-Soo
SS
Lee
Sang Eun
SE
D000368:Aged; D007172:Erectile Dysfunction; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011467:Prostate / Q000601:surgery; D011468:Prostatectomy / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000379:methods; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D056910:Republic of Korea; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome