Radical prostatectomy is the most common surgery to treat localized prostate cancer, it is a treatment option for low or intermadiate-risk localized prostate cancer(stage 1 or 2). A radical prostatectomy is the total removal of the prostate and surrounding tissues. It is done as a potential cure of the prostate cancer as it removes all cancerous cells. It can be combined with other treatments, for example, surgery followed by radiation therapy, if it is in need. As with all options, there is a level of risk associated with a prostatectomy. There are also a number of potential side effects that can range from mild to severe.
Risk complication
Alomost every surgery has its complications, some may happen during the operation, others may occur after the surgery during healing period, tha same to radical prostatectomy, complications may have infection or bleeding at sugery site, reaction tio anesthesia, blood clots in legs or lungs and damage to nearby organs. The ACS(America Cancer Society) also reported a rare instance of intestinal damage during the surgery. Doctors must explain these complications to patients and the family members, the surgery is able to begin after getting permission from the patients and the immediate family members need to sign a paper to show they have known all risks and agree to the operation.
Side effects
Side effects of radical prostatectomy surgery main involves into urology and reproductive system, side effects influence normal urology function like the inability to control urine, urinary incontience, side effects influence sexual ability like trouble getting and keeping an erection, erectile dysfunction are most common complications that can occue post-operation. Follwing are detailed explainations of these side effects.
Urinary incontience
Urinary incontience, the leakage of or the inability to control the flow of urine, is reported as the main urinary side effect experienced by patients who unf-dergo a prostatectomy by the PCF(Prostate Cancer Foundation), about 30 to 50 percent men with normal baseline function before will report an increase in urinary incontience after the surgery, this means nearly half percent of these men will suffer from urinary incontience after radical prostatectomy.
Erectile dysfunction
Nerves which are responsiable for controling erectile and blood flow in the penis are running along the sides of the prostate, they are two small bundles nevers, due to their special location in the prostate gland, there is the potential for damage to occur during the procedure, thus hindering a patient's ability to maintain an erection, causing erectile dysfunction, doctors may do their best to aviod damege these nevers to make sure the patient's sexual ability is normal. However, if the cancer cells have sperad very near to these nerves, they must be removed together in some cases.
Additional side effects
Patients who undergo a prostatectomy surgery are also at risk of getting Peyronie's disease-a disorder in which scar tissue, called a plaque, forms in the penis—the male organ used for urination and sex. Peyronie's disease may make the penis curve or bend, which can cause painful erections. Curves in the penis can make sexual intercourse painful, difficult, or impossible. Besides, a loss of fertility will also occur after the surgery.
Generally, some side effects of radical prostatectomy are preventable, others are not. It is worth being mentioned here that doctors may advise surigical removel for severe cases of
chronic nonbacterial prostatitis in some patients, curing chronic prostatitis can prevent this extreme ending. Early detection and early treatment are very important for any kind of disease, radical prostatectomy is not the noly treating option for prostate cancer if the disease has not developed to a bad condition.