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Objectives: To assess whether bladder neck angle and position on cystogram predict early urinary continence in patients scheduled for early catheter removal after radical prostatectomy (RP)., Methods: A total of 103 patients undergoing open or robot-assisted RP by one expert surgeon between January and December 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. A cystogram was performed on postoperative day 3 or 4 to evaluate anastomotic leakage, and, if none or minimal, the catheter was removed. Urinary continence was evaluated with a validated questionnaire at 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months after RP. Four investigators of different experience assigned bladder neck angle and relative position of bladder neck to pubic symphysis on archived cystogram images. Association between these two parameters and urinary continence rates at different follow-up times was assessed with logistic regression analysis adjusting for patient and tumor characteristics, and surgical technique. Interobserver agreement in assigning the two parameters was measured with k statistic., Results: Catheter was removed immediately after cystogram in 101 (98%) patients. On multivariable analysis, only relative position of bladder neck to pubic symphysis was an independent predictor of 1-week (odds ratio [OR] 30. 95% confidence intervals [CIs] 6-138, p  < 0.001), 1-month (OR 11. 95%CIs 3.8-32, p  < 0.001), and 3-month (OR 19. 95%CIs 3.6-98, p  < 0.001) urinary continence. Interobserver agreement for bladder neck and relative position of bladder neck to pubic symphysis was fair to moderate, and substantial to almost perfect, respectively., Conclusions: Relative position of bladder neck to pubic symphysis on cystogram is a strong and reproducible predictor of early urinary continence after RP.

Background: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the potential impact of catheter removal time on immediate and early urinary continence recovery in a series of patients who underwent radical prostatectomy (RP)., Methods: We prospectively collected and analyzed the clinical records of 197 patients who underwent open RP between January 2014 and December 2016. A single surgeon using the urethral fixation technique performed all procedures. Patients receiving surgery between Monday and Wednesday performed a cystogram on postoperative day (POD) 2. Conversely, other cases treated on a Thursday or Friday performed a cystogram on the following Monday (POD 3 or 4). The catheter removal was planned the day after the cystogram if there was a watertight anastomosis or with a little extravasation (<5%). Urinary continence recovery was evaluated 1 week, 1, 2 and 3 months after catheter removal. Patients self-reporting no urine leak were considered continent. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify independent predictors of urinary continence recovery at different follow-up durations., Results: The median catheterization time was 3 (IQR: 3-4.2) days and acute urinary retention (AUR) was observed in 13 (6.5%) cases. At median follow-up of 12 (IQR: 9-12) months, no case of bladder neck contracture was observed. Urinary continence probabilities were 43%, 63%, 87%, 91% and 95% after 1 week, 1, 3, 6, and 12 months, respectively. On multivariable analyses, time of catheter removal was an independent predictor of urinary continence recovery after 1 week (OR 1.2; P=0.02); 1 month (OR 1.2; P=0.01); 3 months (OR 1.1; P=0.04) and 6 months (OR 1.1; P=0.03) after catheter removal., Conclusions: Time of catheterization should be considered as a postoperative parameter able to influence the immediate and early urinary continence recovery in patients undergoing RP. The impact of new surgical techniques on urinary continence recovery should be tested also considering such potential confounding factor.

Elderly men are likely to be diagnosed with clinically localized prostate cancer, however only few studies have assessed the appropriate treatment in such patients. Radical prostatectomy is one valid alternative. Perioperative outcomes, functional outcomes and oncological outcomes have to be carefully discussed in patient counselling. Fewer perioperative complications, lower perioperative mortality, and shorter hospitalization times have been reported for patients undergoing radical prostatectomy by high-volume surgeons at high-volume centers. Although elderly patients are more likely to be preoperatively incontinent, and increasing age impacts negatively on continence recovery, long-term urinary continence rates have been reported to be satisfactorily high also in older patients. Potency should not be considered as a relevant outcome, since many elderly patients already suffer from longstanding erectile dysfunction and advanced age itself is associated with low chances of recovery. Although some inter-study variability exists in different oncological outcomes measured, most studies are consistent in showing no different cancer-specific survival rates between younger and older patients, thus implying that even elderly patients may benefit from radical treatment. Biological rather than chronological age should be used to base the decision as to whether a patient will profit from definitive treatment. Therefore, elderly men should undergo a health assessment using validated tools before any treatment decision. Only fit and motivated individuals with a reasonable life expectancy and, above all, high-risk disease should be offered radical prostatectomy. In these patients, high-volume surgeons and minimally invasive approaches should be preferable to minimize perioperative complications.

Objectives: To describe step-by-step an original urethrovesical anastomosis technique (urethral fixation) in patients undergoing retropubic radical prostatectomy (RRP), to compare their early urinary continence recovery with those in a control group receiving a standard anastomosis technique and to identify the predictors of early urinary continence recovery., Patients and Methods: We compared 70 patients who underwent RRP with the urethral-fixation technique with a contemporary control group of 51 patients who received RRP with a standard urethrovesical anastomosis. In the urethral-fixation group, the urethrovesical anastomosis was made using eight single sutures. Specifically, to avoid retraction and/or deviations, we fixed the urethral stump laterally to the medial portion of levator ani muscle. Also, to maintain the normal position in the context of the pelvic floor, we fixed the urethral sphincter deeper to the medial dorsal raphe using a 3-0 polydioxanone suture at the 6 o'clock position before completing the incision of the urethral wall. Urinary continence recovery was evaluated at 1, 4, 8 and 12 weeks after catheter removal. Patients self-reporting no urine leak were considered continent. Uni- and multivariable analyses were used to identify predictors of urinary incontinence at the different follow-up time-points., Results: The evaluated groups had comparable preoperative variables. At 1 week after catheter removal, 32 (45.7%) patients in the urethral-fixation group and 10 (19.6%) in the control group were continent (P = 0.01). At 4 weeks after catheter removal, 46 (65.7%) patients in the urethral-fixation group and 16 (31.4%) in the control group were continent (P = 0.001). At 8 weeks after catheter removal, 59 (84.3%) patients in the urethral-fixation group and 21 (41.2%) in the control group were continent (P < 0.001). Finally, at 12 weeks after catheter removal, 63 (90%) patients in the urethral-fixation group and 32 (62.7%) in the control group were continent (P = 0.001). The urethral-fixation technique was an independent predictor of urinary continence recovery at 1 week [odds ratio (OR) 4.305; P = 0.002); 4 weeks (OR 4.784; P < 0.001); 8 weeks (OR 7.678; P < 0.001) and 12 weeks (OR 5.152; P = 0.001) after catheter removal., Conclusions: The urethral-fixation technique significantly improves early urinary continence recovery in comparison with the standard technique. Moreover, our study confirmed that this surgical technique is an independent predictor of urinary continence recovery at 1, 4, 8 and 12 weeks after catheter removal., (© 2016 The Authors BJU International © 2016 BJU International Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

In the last decade, we have assisted to the progressive standardization of the surgical technique of robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP). This article describes in details our current surgical technique to perform nerve-sparing RARP. Specifically, we took in consideration the tips, tricks and pitfalls of each step of RARP according to our experience.