Bladder and male sexual functions after autonomic nerve-sparing TME with or without lateral node dissection for rectal cancer.

BACKGROUND: We evaluated to what extent lateral lymph node dissection (LND) interferes with bladder and male sexual functions after radical rectal excision with adoption of careful total autonomic nerve preservation.
METHODS: The study comprised 77 patients resected for mid-rectal or lower rectal cancer. Bladder and male sexual functions were studied by means of a questionnaire more than one year after surgery. Outcomes were compared between patients who received lateral LND (group 1, 65 patients) and those who did not (group 2, 12 patients).
RESULTS: Only minor disturbances of bladder function were reported in 10 patients (15%) of group 1, and in 3 patients (25%) of group 2. Ten out of 37 preoperatively sexually active patients (27%) in group 1 males and one of 5 patients (20%) in group 2 males had partial or total impotency after surgery and retrograde ejaculation occurred in 3 of 27 patients (11%) and one of 4 patients (25%), respectively. Erectile impotency occurred less frequently when patients were operated during the period 1993-1996 than during 1988-1992 (11% vs. 42%, p<0.05). The age was significantly greater among patients who had loss of ejaculation.
CONCLUSIONS: If lateral lymph node dissection should be used with the aim of improving radicality in rectal excision for cancer, it should be combined with careful nerve-preserving technique--which may reduce the risk of bladder and male sexual dysfunctions.