Prostatectomy

Surgery for Prostate Cancer at Washington Township Medical Foundation

Radical prostatectomy is a treatment option for men who have prostate cancer and are under the age of 70. This is the most commonly used treatment for men who have prostate cancer in the United States. Nerve-sparing radical prostatectomy is the preferred treatment option for patients under 70 who have cancer that is confined to the prostate and is in its early stages. In this procedure, your surgeon attempts to protect the nerves surrounding the prostate in this procedure in order to avoid complications such as incontinence or erectile dysfunction. Your doctor at Washington Township Medical Foundation can tell you more about these procedures and answer any questions you might have.

Preserving Urinary & Erectile Function

In many traditional procedures removing the prostate, side effects may include damage to the nerves that control erectile function, as these nerves run directly adjacent to the prostate. This means that damage to the patient's urinary and erectile function can occur. In a nerve-sparing radical prostatectomy procedure, the urologist attempts to protect these nerves from sustaining damage.

There are two primary goals attached to the nerve-sparing radical prostatectomy procedure:

• Removing the cancer
• Preserving urinary function and erectile function