The effect of puboperiurethral suspension stitch placement on climacturia after robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy.

BACKGROUND

Climacturia is defined as urine leakage associated with orgasm and can negatively affect patients' quality of life. The high prevalence of climacturia after radical prostatectomy (RP) has led to continued efforts to reduce climacturia rates. It has been shown that puboperiurethral suspension stitch placement during RP assists in the recovery of urinary continence.

AIM

To evaluate the impact of puboperiurethral suspension stitch placement during RP on post-RP climacturia.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective study of patients who underwent nerve-sparing robot-assisted laparoscopic RP (RALP) at our institution between 2016 and 2023. The patients were categorized into 2 groups: Group 1 (n = 32) that underwent nerve-sparing RALP with puboperiurethral suspension stitch placement and Group 2 (n = 62) that underwent nerve-sparing RALP alone. Patients who were not able to achieve penetration at the last follow-up visit were excluded from the study. The clinical history, parameters of prostate cancer, details of medical and surgical treatments, and follow-up data were evaluated.

OUTCOMES

Differences in sexual and urinary function, climacturia rates, and complications between nerve-sparing RP with and without puboperiurethral suspension stitch placement.

RESULTS

There were no significant differences between the groups in terms of surgical complications. The mean follow-up time was 14.62 ± 3.55 months in Group 1 and 14.43 ± 4.44 months in Group 2 (P = .42). Postoperative erectile functions were similar between the groups. At the last follow-up visit, climacturia was present in 4 patients (12.5%) in Group 1 and 24 patients (38.7%) in Group 2 (P = .016). The long-term stress urinary incontinence rates were similar between the groups.

CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS

This study provides comparative results on postoperative climacturia rates between nerve-sparing RALP groups with and without puboperiurethral suspension stitch placement. These results show that puboperiurethral suspension stitch can help to prevent postoperative climacturia after RP.

STRENGTH AND LIMITATIONS

This is the first study in the literature that evaluates the effect of puboperiurethral suspension stitch on climacturia. The limitations include the single-center, retrospective design with potential selection bias, possible inaccuracies in the recorded medical data, and challenges in controlling confounding variables.

CONCLUSION

Our study demonstrated that puboperiurethral suspension stitch was a feasible option for the prevention of climacturia after RALP without an increased risk of complications.