To prospectively evaluate if the inclusion of a clinical sexologist in a penile and sexual rehabilitation program improves sexual function one year after prostate cancer surgery.
Twelve months after da Vinci Radical Prostatectomy (dVRP) for prostate cancer, 28 fully potent (IIEF-5 >21) and sexually active men (ages 47-69 years, mean 61) who, in 2008, were enrolled in a prospectively monitored penile rehabilitation program (reference group) were compared with 79 fully potent (IIEF-5 >21) and sexually active men (ages 45-74 years, mean 61) enrolled in 2009 (study group); whose program differed by the inclusion of evaluation and treatment by a clinical sexologist.
Twelve months after dVRP, seventeen patients in the reference group (61%) were sexually active with regular penetrating sexual activity compared to sixty-six (84%) in the study group (p = 0. 02). These findings were independent of whether they had undergone a nerve sparing or non-nerve sparing procedure. Almost 94% (74 patients) in the study group had at some time been able to perform penetrating sexual activity; 14 patients required additional visits to the clinical sexologist beyond the routine follow-up, 9 for short-term cognitive behavior therapy.
Inclusion of a clinical sexologist in a penile and sexual rehabilitation program appears to improve the ability to have regular sexual activity with penetrating sex one year after da Vinci Robotic Radical Prostatectomy.
Central European journal of urology. 2015 May 04 [Epub]
Christina Ljunggren, Peter Ströberg
Department of Urology, Länssjukuset Ryhov, Jönköping, Sweden. , Department of Urology, Länssjukuset Ryhov, Jönköping, Sweden.