[Should we recommend an erectile rehabilitation after radical prostatectomy? Systematic review of the literature by the Sexual Medicine Committee of the French Urology Association]

Abstract

Introduction: Radical prostatectomy has evolved considerably during the last 20 years, with one hand, a thorough knowledge of the anatomy of the prostate, and secondly, the introduction of new conservation techniques of neurovascular bundles. Despite this progress, the rate of post-prostatectomy erectile dysfunction varies between 30 and 90% depending on the series and this element impacts the quality of life after radical prostatectomy. The objective of this work was to conduct a review of the literature in order to evaluate the various protocols of post-radical prostatectomy erectile rehabilitation.

Patients and methods: A systematic review of the literature from the basic PubMed search was performed using the following keywords. Therapy erectile dysfunction, radical prostatectomy, penile rehabilitation, phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitor, intracavernous injection.

Results: The critical analysis of selected studies highlights the lack of standard protocol that established erectile rehabilitation early after radical prostatectomy. These studies have shown that early treatment, injections or intracavernous PDE5 inhibitors improved recovery of erections as recommended by the French Association of Urology.

Conclusion: Management of disorders of post-radical prostatectomy sexuality is essential, it must be organized in a well-established protocol combining pharmacological and therapeutic education assistances delivered by practitioners or nurses. It would need to develop in a clinical trial a standard protocol.

Keywords: Inhibiteur de la phosphodiestérase de type 5; Injection intra-caverneuse; Intracavernous injection; Penile rehabilitation; Phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitor; Prostatectomie radicale; Radical prostatectomy; Réhabilitation précoce; Therapy erectile dysfunction.