Early recovery of urinary continence after robot-assisted radical prostatectomy is associated with membranous urethra and neurovascular bundle preservation.

OBJECTIVES

We investigated the correlation between surgical outcomes and postoperative urinary continence recovery in robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP).

METHODS

Patients who underwent RARP in our institution (n = 195) were included in this study. Preserved urethral length (PUL) was assessed during the procedure. Other outcomes of the surgical procedure were collected from operative records. Kaplan-Meier analysis with log-rank test was used to compare urinary continence recovery rate with the PUL, sparing of the neurovascular bundle (NVB), and other surgical procedures. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed using Cox proportional hazards model, and p-values of <0.05 were considered significant.

RESULTS

Patients with a PUL ≥26 mm had 10.0%, 24.7%, 36.6%, and 89.0% continence recovery rates at 30, 60, 90, and 365 days after surgery, respectively, while patients with a PUL <26 mm had 0%, 17.8%, 26.1%, and 80.9% recovery rates, respectively. Kaplan-Meier curves showed significantly better postoperative urinary continence recovery at 30 days after RARP in patients with a PUL ≥26 mm than those with a PUL <26 mm (p = 0.0028) and in patients with NVB preservation than those with no NVB preservation (p = 0.014). Urinary continence recovery within 30, 60, and 90 days after surgery was 90.6% for patients with a PUL of ≥26 mm and NVB preservation, while only 82.3% for patients with a PUL of <26 mm or no NVB preservation.

CONCLUSION

Our results suggest that a PUL ≥26 mm and NVB preservation after RARP correlate with a significantly higher postoperative rate of recovery of urinary continence.