Early Continence Recovery after Preservation of Maximal Urethral Length until the Level of Verumontanum during Radical Prostatectomy: Primary Oncological and Functional Outcomes after 1 Year of Follow-Up

Purpose. To investigate the effect of preventing maximal urethral length until the level of verumontanum during radical prostatectomy on both oncologic and functional outcomes. Patients and Methods. We recruited 329 patients, and they underwent an open radical prostatectomy by a single surgeon. The study cohort was randomized in 2 groups. A standard radical prostatectomy was performed in group A patients, while in group B the urethra was preserved until the level of verumontanum. Results. There was no statistically significant difference between the study groups in terms of positive surgical margins or biochemical relapse. Regarding the functional results, the incidence of incontinence, urgency, and nocturia at 1st month, statistically significant higher rates were seen in group A. In addition, there was a statistically significant difference in the number of pads/day in favor of group B at the 1st, 3rd, and 6th months after surgery. However, this difference was eliminated at 12 months postoperatively. Similar results were seen with the scores of the ICIQ-SF and IIQ-SF questionnaires. Conclusions. Without compromising the oncological outcome, our surgical modificated technique showed earlier recovery of continence in the first 6 months, having though the same rates of continence at 12 months.