SAN ANTONIO — Patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia who undergo transurethral radical prostatectomy are likely to retain their sexual potency, although ejaculatory function worsens significantly, Michael Muentener, M.D., reported at the annual meeting of the American Urological Association.
In the multicenter study, 11 hospitals in Switzerland reported on at least 80 consecutive cases of patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) who were scheduled for transurethral radical prostatectomy (TURP).
In all, 991 men completed questionnaires on their sexual functioning before undergoing the TURP procedure. Of those, 647 men completed questionnaires 4 months after surgery.
There was no significant change in the proportion of men who reported that they were sexually active, said Dr. Muentener of the University of Zurich. Before TURP, 73% of the men said they were sexually active, and after TURP that proportion was 74%.
There was also no significant change in erectile function. On a scale of 0–9, with 0 being best, the average erectile function score was 1.68 before the surgery and 1.53 after surgery. Similarly there was no change in ejaculatory discomfort. Using the same scale, the men averaged a score of 0.45 before surgery and 0.31 after surgery.
The only significant change was in ejaculatory function. On the 0–9 scale, the men averaged 1.34 before surgery, and average scores worsened to 2.62 after surgery. This resulted in “considerable bother,” Dr. Muentener said.