[Does the surgeon have an influence on clinical voiding parameters and postoperative sexual function after TURP?]

Background: Benign prostate syndrome (BPS) is a common phenomenon in the aging male. Transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) remains the international standard of care for -patients requiring surgical intervention for BPS. Although the voiding improvement following TURP is well-documented, controversy exists regarding its effect on post-operative sexual function. In this study we investigated the possible influence of individual surgeons on clinical voiding parameters and post-operative sexual function after TURP.

Patients/materials and methods: We analyzed 123 patients with a mean age of 70 years (46-88 years) who had undergone TURP secondary to BPS. To evaluate the clinical parameters, patients completed the IPSS and IIEF-15 questionnaires preoperatively and 1 year postoperatively. Additional parameters including urinary flow and post voiding residual volume were also collected.

Results: A statistically significant improvement in voiding function was noted postoperatively. The mean IPSS improved from 19.35 to 6.49 (p<0.05). Objective flow parameters also improved; Qmax 10.43-19.46 mL/s (p<0.05) and residual volume 95-11 mL (p<0.05). The mean pre-operative prostate volume was 41.8 cm³. The mean resected tissue weight was 21.1 g. The pa-tients showed no significant change in the frequency of their sexual activity following TURP, however IIEF-15 sexual function and erectile function scores declined mildly. This was statistically significant with pre-op IIEF-15=30.52 and post-op 26.24 (p<0.05). Comparing individual surgeons, no statistically significant difference was noted in IPSS and IIEF-15 functional outcome scores. Although significant differences existed in the total amount of resected tissue, the percentage of resected adenoma in relation to total prostate volume was not statistically significant.

Conclusion: Overall, IPSS scores improved significantly following TURP and sexual function scored declined mildly. We detected no influence between surgeons on clinical voiding parameters and postoperative sexual function after TURP using the IPSS and IIEF-15 questionnaires.