Several efforts in recent years have been made to predict urinary continence (UC) recovery after radical prostatectomy. The aim of our study was to investigate the impact of surgical urethral length preservation (SULP) on urinary continence after LARP (laparoscopic-assisted radical prostatectomy). We retrospectively queried our datasets from May 2021 to May 2022. After the application of exclusion criteria, a total of 100 patients who underwent LARP for prostate cancer at our institution were enrolled. Through a sterile ruler inserted by a 12 mm trocar, the length of the membranous urethra spared during LARP was assessed intra-operatively. The baseline and peri- and postoperative data of patients were collected, and UC was defined as 0 or 1 on a safety pad. The median SULP was 20.5 mm (IQR, 14.5-25), and the median intraoperative EBL were 150 mL (IQR, 100-200). The Kaplan-Meier curve showed a significant difference at 20 mm, which was used as the cut-off value for SULP (log-rank test, p < 0.001). Multivariate Cox proportional hazards models showed that SULP and EBL < 250 mL were associated with UC recovery (all p < 0.02). Surgical urethral length preservation seemed to improve early UC recovery after LARP. Further multicentric studies are needed to confirm our findings.
Keywords: LARP; minimally invasive; urethra sparing; urinary continence.