Prostate Surgery Risks & Complications: What to Expect

Prostate cancer surgery patients face the customary potential surgery complications of blood clots, bleeding, heart attack, stroke and infection. In addition, they face complications such as incontinence, impotence and BNC or bladder neck contracture.

Urinary Incontinence

• Urinary incontinence is a common surgery side effect for prostate cancer surgical patients. It is not unusual for patients to leak urine for as long as 18 months. The odds of urinary incontinence are lower if the patient undergoes cryosurgery. Treatment options include drug therapy and/or surgical correction.

Impotence

• Some studies suggest that as many as 40 percent of patients experience impotence issues or erectile dysfunction (ED). The percentage is higher for patients who undergo cryosurgery instead of radical prostatectomy. Preferred impotence treatments include drugs such as Viagra but it takes time, sometimes months, for the drugs to take effect. Injections and vacuum pumps are additional treatment methods. Penile implants may be used to restore sexual function when other methods do not achieve results.

Altered Sensation

• Altered sexual sensation can occur following prostate cancer surgery, resulting in less rigid erections and orgasm may be affected. Infertility results when retrograde ejaculation (a common complication of radical prostatectomy surgery) forces semen back into the bladder instead of out of the body.

Fecal Incontinence

• Nerve sparring radical prostatectomy surgery increases the patient's risk of fecal incontinence (loss of bowel control). One study suggests that patients experiencing this complication improved within ten months. Treatment options include protective pads and over the counter medications.

Bladder Neck Contracture

• Bladder neck contracture (BNC) is a common complication occurring within the first three months following a radical prostatectomy procedure. Dilation and/or surgery are standard treatment options for BNC.