Nerve sparing developments for prostate cancer patients

American researchers have documented the outcomes of 408 prostate cancer patients in an attempt to test the effect of nerve sparing on the ability to orgasm after surgery.

The researchers from Cornell University found that many men can retain their ability to orgasm if the surgery is carried out without removing the nerves that surround the prostate gland like a hammock, according to a study in the February issue of the urology journal BJUI. They tested 408 patients 408 patients who received robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (RALP) from a single surgeon between January 2005 and June 2007.

The vast majority (91 per cent) of men retained the same orgasmic function after surgery if the nerves on both sides were cancer free and were able to be spared. This figure went down to 82 per cent in men who had nerve sparing on one side and 61 per cent in men who had little or no nerve sparing.

Lead author Dr Ashutosh Tewari, Director of the Prostate Cancer Institute and the LeFrak Robotic Surgery Center at Weill Cornell Medical College said:“It is acknowledged that open, rather than laparoscopic, radical prostatectomy damages some pelvic nerves and one notable study found that only 22 per cent of men who received this surgery retained their orgasmic function.

"However there is little data on orgasmic function following RALP and that is what this study sought to address.”

Published by Fiona Griffiths