A single institution study on patient's self-reporting appraisal and functional outcomes of the first set of men following radical perineal prostatectomy

INTRODUCTION: This study evaluates the functional outcomes and satisfaction of an initial series of 47 patients after radical perineal prostatectomy performed in our department. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The first set of 47 consecutive patients underwent perineal prostatectomy during 2008 and 2009. Continence, sexual outcomes, and satisfaction of the treatment were evaluated using a self-reporting questionnaire, which was mailed to all patients after 15 to 33 months of follow-up. 26 patients (55.3%) returned a completed form and participated in the study. Additionally, final outcomes were compared to results reported elsewhere. RESULTS: Amid respondents, 91.7% were satisfied with the chosen treatment and 8.3% regret the previous decision. 38.5% patients reported any urine leakage, 15.4% drip up to 100 ml a day, and only one patient (3.8%) was totally incontinent. 76.9% men report a decline in prior sexual function. Six patients (23.1%) patients have any degree of spontaneous erections and undertake sexual activity. However, as erectile outcomes are adjusted to nine nerve-sparing cases, 66.7% have spontaneous erections and 55.5% undertake sexual activity, but only 40% of them describe their sexual function as satisfying. CONCLUSIONS: Our survey demonstrates that, because of short operating time, fast recovery, low postoperative pain score, early patient mobilization and feeding, and a small (8-10 cm) and inconspicuous skin incision, radical perineal prostatectomy fully deserves to be recognized as a low-morbidity procedure. The perineal approach provides a quality of life and patients satisfaction rate comparable to trendy, highly equipped procedures and emerges as an attractive alternative to them. Even novice “perineal surgeons” may achieve favorable results.