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A total of 153 patients with prior prostate surgery underwent a radical retropubic prostatectomy for carcinoma of the prostate. Ninety-seven patients had undergone transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP), and 56 patients had undergone suprapubic transvesical prostatectomy (SPP). In 115 patients, the diagnosis of malignancy was made at the time of transurethral resection or enucleation. No perioperative deaths occurred and no patient suffered rectal injury or ureteral transection. Operative time and blood loss were similar between the TURP and SPP groups and were not different in a group of patients who had not had prior prostate surgery. Early and late complications occurred in eight patients (5.2%), of whom seven had had previous TURP. Complete urinary control was achieved in 96% (147) of the patients; stress incontinence was present in 4% (6 patients); and no patient was totally incontinent. Postoperative complications and the occurrence of stress incontinence were not related to the time elapsed between the previous prostate surgery and the radical prostatectomy. Sexual function was preserved in 32 (71%) of the 45 patients in whom we performed a nerve-sparing radical prostatectomy. Residual cancer was found in the radical prostatectomy specimen in 77 (67%) of the stage A patients. Twenty-nine (25%) of the stage A and 13 (34%) of the stage B patients had pathological evidence of disease extension beyond the confined prostate. Follow-up was 6-92 months, with a mean of 32 months. Four patients died of prostatic cancer, two patients died without cancer, and five have evidence of disease progression; 142 (93%) are alive without evidence of disease. Although radical prostatectomy sometimes is more difficult after previous prostate surgery, operative complication rates, patient morbidity, and the opportunity for surgical cure are not different from those seen in patients with no history of previous prostate operations.

The proposed system of analysis and reporting could prove clinically relevant in the decision whether to repeat targeted biopsies.

No abstract

Between 1983 and 1989, 484 men (46-82 years old) underwent radical retropubic prostatectomy for prostate cancer. Six months after surgery, 434 patients (90%) achieved complete urinary control; stress incontinence was present in 50 patients (10%) and no patient was totally incontinent. Of the 398 patients who were followed up for more than 1 year, 377 (95%) achieved complete urinary control and 21 (5%) experienced stress incontinence. Prior open prostatectomy or transurethral resection of the prostate had no influence on the return of urinary control. Pathological stage and preservation or not of the neurovascular bundles also had no significant influence on the long-term state of continence. Age was the only factor that adversely affected the return of urinary continence. The average interval between surgery and return of continence was shorter in patients less than 70 years old. When the impact of age was examined 1 year or more after surgery, no significant difference was noted between the age groups. Several technical considerations that contribute to these results are discussed, especially the use of a gradual approach to the apex of the prostate to facilitate exposure and haemostasis and to preserve as much of the striated urethral sphincter as possible.