Quality of life after radical prostatectomy

In the past, radical prostatectomy commonly led to urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction. In the last decade, new operative techniques have greatly reduced the complication rate and the operation has gained increasing popularity as treatment of choice for localized prostate cancer. Success or failure of radical prostatectomy has been reported not only in terms of disease-free survival, but in terms of patient attitudes to treatment and side effects. As physicians, we must remember that in presenting treatment options to patients it is important to emphasize both the quality and quantity of life that may result. With richer information on QOL in addition to duration of survival, patients will be able to make more informed decisions. Therefore, the QOL study will contribute patient self-report data to current treatment decision models that rely solely on physician estimates of patients' QOL and side effects following radical prostatectomy. We herein report the results of our recent QOL survey in men treated with radical prostatectomy, and briefly discuss QOL methodology.