Changes in penile length after robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy

Jason D. Engel, Douglas E. Sutherland, Stephen B. Williams, Kristofer R. Wagner

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

37 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background and Purpose: Radical prostatectomy is commonly performed for the treatment of patients with prostate cancer. Several studies have demonstrated a reduction in penile size after open radical retropubic prostatectomy. The objective of this study is to describe changes in penile length after after robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (RALRP). Patients and Methods: We performed a randomized, open label, multicenter study in men with normal erectile function who underwent bilateral nerve-sparing radical prostatectomy. We evaluated changes in measured stretched penile length (SPL), a secondary end point of the study, in a subset of men from a single site who underwent RALRP by one surgeon. They were randomized to either intraurethral alprostadil 125 to 250 mg daily or oral sildenafil citrate 50mg daily for 9 months. SPL was measured from pubic bone to coronal sulcus using a semirigid ruler before surgery and at 1, 3, 6, 9, 10, and 11 months. Results: A total of 127 patients were enrolled and 94 completed the 11-month follow-up. The mean patient age was 56.5 years. Baseline mean SPL (cm) before surgery was 11.77 and decreased to 11.13 at 1 month (P<0.0001). A trend toward recovery of SPL was seen at 3 and 6 months. Mean SPL was not significantly different from baseline at 9, 10, and 11 months. Conclusions: This report describes changes in SPL over time after RALRP for prostate cancer. The expected decrease in length was observed shortly after surgery, but, by 9 months, penile length had returned to the preoperative measurement.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)65-69
Number of pages5
JournalJournal of Endourology
Volume25
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2011
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Urology

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