Achieving Optimal Outcomes After Radical Prostatectomy

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Abstract
Purpose The most favorable outcome that can be achieved after radical prostatectomy is complete tumor resection without recurrence and full recovery of continence and potency. Risks of erectile dysfunction, incontinence, and disease recurrence are well described, but in isolation, do not adequately inform patients of the possibility of becoming cancer-free while at the same time returning to their preoperative functional state. We sought to determine the frequency of optimal outcomes after radical prostatectomy and the time to such outcomes. Patients and Methods Patients who underwent radical prostatectomy performed at a tertiary referral center between July 1998 and July 2003 for clinical stage T1 to T3 prostate cancer were identified. Patients were excluded if they were incontinent or impotent preoperatively, or if they had received radiotherapy or neoadjuvant androgen deprivation therapy previously. Six hundred forty-seven patients were analyzed for time to recovery of full continence and potency witho...