What is Prostatectomy?

Prostatectomy is a surgical way to treat prostate cancer. It either removes all or part of a prostate. Prostatectomy includes several types of surgical procedure. The prostate gland is found in the lower abdomen of men just below the urinary bladder. It surrounds the urethra which is responsible for carrying urine from the urinary bladder to the penis. There are different kinds of prostatectomy depends on the treatment:

  • Radical Prostatectomy: It is a surgery to remove the whole of the prostate along with the lymph nodes. This is for those men who have localized prostate cancer.
  • Open Simple Prostatectomy: It is generally recommended for men who have serious urinary symptoms and quite enlarged prostate glands. This enlargement is referred to as BPH or prostatic hyperplasia. This surgery just removes the obstructive part of a prostate that blocks the flow of urine.

Prostatectomy

Do You Get Normal Erection After Prostatectomy?

Regaining normal erectile function after a prostate surgery is a rare phenomenon. Prostatectomy removes cancer but it a serious side effect like erectile dysfunction. The reason is that the nerve that surrounds the prostate often gets damaged during the operation. These are the nerves that are responsible for controlling the ability to have an erection. In certain cases, such a condition might improve with time. However, studies have indicated that having an erection just as the same quality as before the operation is a rare case. The researchers have reached the conclusion only when 14 men among 210 men reported to have the same quality of erection after the surgery. Viagra is recommended to be utilized after prostatectomy to achieve an erection sufficient to carry out sexual intercourse. Recover your sexual life with Viagra!

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There is a controversy regarding the incidence of ED after the prostate cancer surgery. The controversy stems from the fact that the standard way of measuring the ED is through a questionnaire, IIEF or International Index of Erectile Dysfunction and this was not aimed specifically at the prostate cancer patients. So, some felt that this did not take into consideration the special circumstances of a sudden change that is brought upon by a surgery. In fact, they felt that it did not even allow comparison with sexual activity before the operation.

Thus, another question was added to the questionnaire that asked whether the erectile function was as good as before. Around 14 men reported that they had an erection that was as good as before. About 93% of the men experienced sexual problems after the prostate cancer surgery.

The idea of this questionnaire was to find out the real problems that men were having after the surgery. However, the findings are yet to be confirmed.

Prostate cancer surgery

Other Causes of Erectile Dysfunction

Endocrine Diseases

The endocrine system of the body produces hormones that are responsible for regulating metabolism, reproduction, mood, sexual function, and several other things.

Diabetes is a type of endocrine disease that can lead a person to incur the problem of impotence. Diabetes has an effect on the body’s ability to utilize insulin. One of the side effects that chronic diabetes has is nerve damage. This has an effect on the penis sensation. Another complication of diabetes is changing in hormonal levels and blow flow which might lead to impotence. Watch the video on this theme:

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Nerve and Neurological Disorder

Canadian Health&Care Mall states that numerous neurological conditions can lead to an increase in the risk of impotence. Nerve condition has an effect on the ability of the brain to communicate with the reproductive system of the body. A neurological disease that is related to impotence is:

  • parkinson’s disease;
  • alzheimer’s disease;
  • stroke;
  • multiple sclerosis;
  • spinal and brain tumor;
  • temporal lobe epilepsy.

Long distance bicycle riders might also experience temporary impotence. This is because of the constant pressure on the genitals which affects the function of the nerves.

Taking Medication

EDTaking medication might have an effect on the blood flow which can cause ED. A person should not discontinue a medication without the permission of the doctor. Medications which cause impotence:

  • alpha-adrenergic blockers
  • beta-blockers
  • central nervous system depressants
  • cancer chemotherapy medication
  • central nervous stimulants
  • synthetic hormones
  • selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors
  • diuretics

Cardiac-Related Disorders

Conditions that affect the heart and the ability of it to pump blood can lead to ED. Without proper blood flow to the penis, you will not be able to achieve an erection. High cholesterol and high blood pressure can also lead to impotence. A condition named Atherosclerosis can clog the blood vessels leading to impotence.