Surgically Induced Erectile Dysfunction
Unfortunately, many men have unrealistic expectations for sexual recovery after surgery. In many cases, treatment for prostate cancer, especially with radical prostatectomy, has permanent side effects.
Long-term and potentially permanent sexual dysfunction is a common consequence of radical prostatectomy. This can be a massive issue for both a man and his partner.
Even when a mans doctor is quite candid concerning reduced or non-existent sexual function, many men still expect improvements in sexual functioning one or more years after surgery. 4
It is a given that a man might be capable of recovering usable erections after surgery. However, it is also a given that sexual sensations after a prostatectomy will never be the same as they were before surgery.
In most cases, sensation after surgery is significantly altered. Therefore, if a patients expectation for success means recovery to the physical action and sensations prior to surgery, he is destined to be, at the very least, disappointed.
Loss of erectile function often causes a devastating blow to a man used to having sexual performance. Due to a lack of communication with his doctor, he may also be rather surprised about how total the loss is. This loss may also be perceived quite strongly by his partner.
Since complete surgical erectile dysfunction is a very real possibility, any man considering a radical prostatectomy, must, if he values his sex life, also consider other options very seriously.
Surgery For Prostate Cancer
Surgery is a common choice to try to cure prostate cancer if it is not thought to have spread outside the prostate gland.
The main type of surgery for prostate cancer is a radical prostatectomy. In this operation, the surgeon removes the entire prostate gland plus some of the tissue around it, including the seminal vesicles.
Donât Miss: How To Clean The Prostate
What You Never Lose: The Good News About Sexual Function
While regaining erectile functiom is not possible for all men, it is important to remember that erection is just one part of a satisfying sex life. The other parts remain intact despite prostate cancer surgery. Sexual feelings, sexual fulfillment, climax and the sensation of orgasm are still available without erection.
Don’t Miss: Is Zinc Bad For The Prostate
Sexual Dysfunction After Prostate Surgery Is More Common Than Previously Reported Says Hutchinson Center Study
Media briefing: A media briefing will be held at 1 p.m. PST Tuesday, Jan. 18 at the Center’s Metropolitan Park East Campus, 1730 Minor Ave., between Olive and Howell streets. A Media Relations representative will greet you in the lobby and escort you to the briefing room. Free parking is available in an underground garage entrance off Minor Ave. A map of the site is available upon request.
B-roll available: A related video news release, including sound bites and b-roll of Dr. Janet Stanford and a Seattle-area prostate-cancer survivor, will be available via satellite feed twice on Tuesday, Jan. 18: first between 6 and 6:30 a.m. PST and again between 11 and 11:30 a.m. PST .
SEATTLE — Sexual dysfunction among men who undergo prostatectomy appears more prevalent than previously reported, according to a multi-center study led by an investigator from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle.
The results will appear in the Jan. 19 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Funded by the National Cancer Institute, the Prostate Cancer Outcomes Study is the first comprehensive, population-based assessment of sexual function and urinary continence among men treated with radical prostatectomy for early stage, localized prostate cancer. It is also the first study to examine the sexual and urinary side effects of such surgery in minority populations.
Age and education also had an impact on the frequency of impotence.
# # #
LOCALIZED PROSTATE CANCER
Risks Of Prostate Surgery
The risks with any type of radical prostatectomy are much like those of any major surgery. Problems during or shortly after the operation can include:
- Reactions to anesthesia
- Blood clots in the legs or lungs
- Damage to nearby organs
- Infections at the surgery site.
Rarely, part of the intestine might be injured during surgery, which could lead to infections in the abdomen and might require more surgery to fix. Injuries to the intestines are more common with laparoscopic and robotic surgeries than with the open approach.
If lymph nodes are removed, a collection of lymph fluid can form and may need to be drained.
In extremely rare cases, a man can die because of complications of this operation. Your risk depends, in part, on your overall health, your age, and the skill of your surgical team.
Also Check: Sbrt Radiation Therapy Prostate Cancer
I Don’t Have Erections After Surgery Am I Impotent For Life
Think of your erections as a well conditioned athlete, who has been injured. This injury is going to take time to heal. You should try to remain patient, and remember that this will be an ongoing battle for many months and even years. Rehabilitation of potency is much like a sports injury. Proper conditioning and medical treatment may potentially speed up recovery, but it is not guaranteed.
If you see any fullness in your erections in the months after your robotic prostatectomy surgery, this is a positive sign that some of the nerves are working or re-growing. You are taking the first steps down the potency recovery path. Remember though, as shown in the previous table for open prostatectomy, 25-55% of men do not regain erections.
What Is The Problem
Some 6,500 radical prostatectomies are performed every year in the UK . In a negative association, an increase in one quantity corresponds to a decrease in the other. Association does not necessarily mean that one thing causes the other. More of Urological Surgeons, 2019). While approximately half of these men have pre-existing erectile dysfunction, over 50% of the other half can expect to lose natural erections after prostatectomy surgery, especially if their cancers are locally advanced and require wide clearance to ensure removal of the whole tumour.
Also Check: Is There A Cure To Prostate Cancer
Availability Of Data And Materials
The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are not publicly available due to the large size of the transcripts from each interview and sensitivity and specificity of some of the information from the interviews, but the demographic information and some of the de-identified descriptions can be made available upon reasonable request to the corresponding author.
Recovering From Prostate Surgery
During the surgery, the doctor will insert a catheter into the patients penis. This thin, flexible tube will help to drain urine until the patient is healed enough to urinate on their own. The catheter will typically remain for about one or two weeks after the surgery.
The patient can usually leave the hospital within a day or two, but the incision site will likely feel sore for a few days after. The patient will most likely not be able to drive for at least a week, but should be able to return to normal activities within a few weeks.
During the recovery, the patient may experience several side effects including:
- Urinary tract infection
- Temporary loss of bladder control
- Infertility
- Ejaculatory dysfunction
- Erectile dysfunction
After the surgery, its possible to experience erectile dysfunction for a few weeks, a year, or even longer in some cases. This is because the surgery might potentially injure one of the nerves, muscles, or blood vessels that are involved with getting and maintaining erections. There are other factors that could influence the severity of the erectile dysfunction during recovery as well and so it can be difficult to predict how any specific person may recover from the surgery.
The Prostate Cancer Foundation has reported that about half of all men undergoing nerve sparing surgery will regain their pre-surgery function within the first year of the surgery.
- Age
- Sedentary lifestyle
Also Check: Is Prostate Cancer Genetically Inherited
Chemotherapy Drugs For Prostate Cancer
- Docetaxel
- Mitoxantrone
- Estramustine
The drugs listed above are only a sample of what is available and is used to illustrate a truth. Because of the range and variety of drugs used in both these treatments the impact on sexual function can range from sever to insignificant.
Hormone replacement therapy for prostate cancer, for example, can often impact sex drive rather that create erectile dysfunction. It is important to work with your physician to explore all available treatment options. How to keep a healthy erection?
Transurethral Resection Of The Prostate
This operation is more often used to treat men with non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate called benign prostatic hyperplasia . But it is also sometimes used in men with advanced prostate cancer to help relieve symptoms, such as trouble urinating.
During this operation, the surgeon removes the inner part of the prostate gland that surrounds the urethra . The skin is not cut with this surgery. An instrument called a resectoscope is passed through the tip of the penis into the urethra to the level of the prostate. Once it is in place, either electricity is passed through a wire to heat it or a laser is used to cut or vaporize the tissue. Spinal anesthesia or general anesthesia is used.
The operation usually takes about an hour. After surgery, a catheter is inserted through the penis and into the bladder. It remains in place for about a day to help urine drain while the prostate heals. You can usually leave the hospital after 1 to 2 days and return to normal activities in 1 to 2 weeks.
You will probably have some blood in your urine after surgery.
Other possible side effects from TURP include infection and any risks that come with the type of anesthesia used.
You May Like: How Old Can You Be To Get Prostate Cancer
Isnt Viagra Very Expensive
Viagra is indeed rather expensive. A box of four 100mg tablets will cost the NHS or you £23.50 per box. However, since December 2017 in the US, and amazingly since June 2013 in the UK, it has been legal for other drug manufacturers to make generic sildenafil and so, with a private prescription you can now pick up a box of 4 x 100mg sildenafil citratetables for as little as 79p, a thirty-fold price reduction. Its almost as cheap as paracetamol! The NHS is slowly waking up to this but still official NHS guidance only permits one packet of four tables per month for those who meet strict erectile dysfunction criteria. We hope this will change soon, given that 11 boxes could be purchased for the £8.80 standard NHS prescription charge! Furthermore, Cialis also came off patent in December 2018 in the US and we can therefore expect generic tadalafil, which currently costs £54.99 for a box of 28 x 2.5mg cialis is generally taken daily due to its longer half-life to come down to similar prices.
What Determines Erection Recovery After Surgery
The most obvious determinant of postoperative erectile dysfunction is preoperative potency status. Some men may experience a decline in erectile function over time, as an age-dependent process. Furthermore, postoperative erectile dysfunction is compounded in some patients by preexisting risk factors that include older age, comorbid disease states , lifestyle factors , and the use of medications such as antihypertensive agents that have antierectile effects.
Also Check: Does Super Beta Prostate Work
Read Also: What Is Good To Take For Prostate Health
Can You Have Sex After Prostate Removal
The good news is that sex after prostate removal is very possible and enjoyable for most men. This is due to the newest robotic technologies that are nerve-sparing and preserve the sexual function.
Dr. Samadis robotic prostate surgery, SMART Surgery, was explicitly designed to spare the tiny nerve bundles surrounding the prostate in order to preserve sexual potency.
Men who undergo Dr. Samadis robotic prostate surgery have a reasonable chance of regaining complete erectile function for sex after prostate surgery.
Even though ejaculation will cease, you will still be able to enjoy sex after prostate surgery, as it is further explained.
So, prostate surgery does affect you sexually, but not in the ways you are thinking of.
How Long Does Erectile Dysfunction Last After Prostate Surgery
Is erectile dysfunction a possibility after prostate surgery?
Many patients are concerned about it and prefer other prostate cancer treatments.
However, they should know that most erectile issues are temporary and improve after a while.
These patients usually recover from this problem after a few months.
In this article, we cover sexual function after prostate cancer surgery thoroughly, tell you how long ED can last, and how to cope with erectile problems.
Donât Miss: Does Fish Oil Cause Prostate Cancer
You May Like: How Would You Know If You Have Prostate Cancer
High Intensity Focused Ultrasound Or Cryotherapy
Treatments such as High Intensity Focused Ultrasound or cryotherapy may cause fewer erection problems. Researchers are still looking into these treatments and their long term side effects. There is still a risk of erection problems with these treatments. For example, to treat your cancer properly, the doctor may not be able to avoid the nerves.
Treatment Options For Erection Restoration After Prostate Cancer Therapy
There are medications and therapies that have strong clinical data to support the concept of erectile restoration. A mainstay of this therapy is daily use of medications such as Viagra and Cialis. Additionally, there are medications that act directly in the penis that can improve erectile function during the recovery period after surgery and radiation.
The important thing about sexual function after prostate cancer treatment is to not give up. Despite the best skills and efforts of your surgeon, you may have a significant reduction in your ability to achieve a full erection. There are multiple therapeutic options available to you. Feel comfortable at The Mens Clinic that you are getting state of the art care in a relaxing environment that ultimate should lead to good sexual outcomes.
Don’t Miss: Prostate Cancer Prognosis By Age
The Three Parts Of Male Orgasm
Kacker starts by pointing out a common misconception that erections are necessary for male orgasm. They arent. Men can have experience orgasm without an erection. The converse is also true, of course: men can have an erection without having an orgasm.
When discussing orgasm and radical prostatectomy, its useful to think of the male orgasm as having three separate parts, says Dr. Kacker.
First, secretions from the testicles, the prostate, and the seminal vesiclessmall, slender glands near the prostateflow into the urethra, the tube-like structure that carries semen through the penis and out the body. The emission of those fluids creates a feeling of fullness and a sensation of inevitability.
Second, theres ejaculation, which is accompanied by contractions of the pelvic floor muscles, the group of muscles used to hold in intestinal gas and urine.
And third is the mental componentall of the processing the brain does of incoming sensory signals from penis and pelvis that contribute to the mental experience of build up and release.
Why Is There Increasing Concern At This Time Regarding Erectile Dysfunction Issues Following Radical Prostatectomy
The reality of the recovery process after radical prostatectomy today is that erectile function recovery lags behind functional recovery in other areas. Patients are understandably concerned about this issue and, following months of erectile dysfunction, become skeptical of reassurances that their potency will return.
Don’t Miss: What Helps With Enlarged Prostate
If You’re A Gay Or Bisexual Man
To be the active partner during anal sex you normally need a strong erection, so erection problems can be a particular issue. You could try using a constriction ring around your penis together with another treatment like PDE5 inhibitor tablets, to help keep your erection hard enough for anal sex.
If you are receiving anal sex, a lot of the pleasure comes from the penis rubbing against the prostate. Some men who receive anal sex find that their experience of sex changes if they have their prostate removed .
If you receive anal sex, then bowel problems or sensitivity in the anus may be an issue after radiotherapy. Its best to wait until your symptoms have settled before trying anal play or sex. If youve had permanent seed brachytherapy there is a risk in the first few months that your partner might be exposed to some radiation during sex. Talk to your doctor or nurse for further advice.
With all sexual changes you may be able to find ways to work through this.
Watch Martin’s story below for one gay man’s experience.
Watch other men’s personal stories about sex after prostate cancer.
Habits And Lifestyle Changes
Your healthcare provider may recommend making certain changes to your habits and lifestyle to promote blood flow and improve your erectile health. These may include:
-
Treating any underlying health issues
-
Changing your eating habits to maintain a healthy weight
-
Exercising regularly to improve your cardiovascular health
-
If you smoke, quitting smoking and nicotine products
-
Limiting your consumption of alcohol
Weve talked more about the effects of good habits and lifestyle changes on ED in our guide to naturally protecting your erection.
Although these changes are unlikely to treat prostatectomy-related erectile dysfunction on their own, they can contribute to an increase in blood flow, better overall health and improved sexual function.
Recommended Reading: Gleason Score 7 Prostate Cancer Treatment Options
What Are The Current Expectations With Regard To Outcomes After Radical Prostatectomy
Following a series of anatomical discoveries of the prostate and its surrounding structures about 2 decades ago, changes in the surgical approach permitted the procedure to be performed with significantly improved outcomes. Now after the surgery, expectations are that physical capacity is fully recovered in most patients within several weeks, return of urinary continence is achieved by more than 95% of patients within a few months, and erection recovery with ability to engage in sexual intercourse is regained by most patients with or without oral phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitors within 2 years.