title: [Ralp and Rocco stitch: original technique].
abstract: Incontinence and impotence are the two chief drawbacks of radical prostatectomy (RP). Incontinence is the most relevant for most of the patients, even if there is high variability in terms of prevalence and definition of continence. Incontinence seems the result of several factors, the most important being the surgical injury of some structures and the biomechanical instability associated with vesicourethral anastomosis. In the posterior urethra, which guarantees the continence mechanism, two functionally independent regions can be recognized: the proximal and the distal. The proximal region can be identified with the bladder neck, while the distal region is the rhabdosphincter urethrae. Concerning the distal functional region, two kinds of strategy can be applied: the preservation of puboprostatic ligaments and urethral attachments, or the reconstruction of the urethral rhabdosphincter, which can be anterior, posterior or total. We describe our technique of choice for posterior reconstruction, first described by Rocco and then modified by Patel et al.
authors.affiliation: UO di Urologia, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via della Commenda 15, Milan, Italy. matteogiuliospinelli@gmail.com
authors.forename: Matteo Giulio
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Spinelli
authors.forename: Gabriele
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cozzi
authors.forename: Angelica
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Grasso
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Talso
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Varisco
authors.forename: Davide
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Abed El Rahman
authors.forename: Pietro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Acquati
authors.forename: Giancarlo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Albo
authors.forename: Bernardo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rocco
authors.forename: Augusto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Maggioni
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rocco
mesh_terms: D007172:Erectile Dysfunction / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011468:Prostatectomy / Q000009:adverse effects; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014521:Urethra / Q000601:surgery*; D014549:Urinary Incontinence / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D013521:Urologic Surgical Procedures, Male / Q000379:methods