Shorter Penis After Radical Prostatectomy

everyjoe.com - We have to face it. The length of a man’s penis is frequently a concern among countless men. After all, who wants a short one, although truth be told, most women don’t really care about length; it’s really a case of quality over quantity guys.

silhouette of a crowdAnyway, the issue of penile length is important and so is the ability to have sexual relations. As a result, many men are afraid to have surgery that may have anything to do with their penis or their sexuality. When the surgery is to be done for prostate cancer, reluctance to have it can extend the time before treatment can be done, allowing the cancer to take a greater hold.

Unfortunately, researchers have found that it can happen that a man’s penis becomes shorter after undergoing a radical prostatectomy. This is called post-surgery penile length shortening (PLS). The researchers don’t know what causes it, but theories include the scarring that takes place internally, pulling the penile tissue in towards the body.

A radical prostatectomy is the surgical procedure that removes all of the prostate gland and some of the surrounding tissue.

A study of 126 patients involved measuring penile measurements immediately before surgery, when the urinary catheter was removed, and at 3, 6 and 12 months after surgery. The men were asked about their sexual function at the time of surgery and at 3, 6 and 12 months using the erectile function domain of the International Index of Erectile Function.

What the researchers found was that most of the shortening that did occur, occurred at the time the catheter was removed after surgery. In some men, some shortening occurred later, but not as much or as often as when the catheter came out.

The study findings were published a few years ago in the Journal of Urology. The reason why it comes up again now is another small study (only 6 men) looked at the men’s responses to this shortening.

None of the six men were able to maintain an erection that allowed them to have sexual intercourse, however, they reported being resigned to the fact that their penis had become shorter. The authors of the study point out that this could be because the men were no longer able to have an erection and wonder if they would feel the same if they were.

Interestingly, the overall feeling of the study was that the men were ok with their outcome, considering that they were able to beat the cancer as a result. This study was published in the European Journal of Oncology Nursing.

So, maybe more men will become less concerned with length and more concerned with health?

FYI, men who had nerve-sparing surgery, as well as those who recovered some erectile function during the year of follow-up, lost less length than other study participants.

The researchers theorize that the death of nerve cells and reduced blood flow (and thus a loss of oxygen) to the penis during surgery and recovery may contribute to shortening. Although penile rehabilitation remains controversial, they suggest that it might help temper shortening, a conclusion supported by a study from a team of researchers in Minnesota. They found that starting the use of a vacuum erection device one month after surgery improves sexual function and helps to preserve penile length.