Transurethral prostatectomy: differential effects of age category and presurgery sexual functioning on postprostatectomy sexual adjustment.

Sexual functioning and adjustment of 72 aging married males who had undergone transurethral prostatectomy were examined retrospectively according to their pre- and postsurgery status. Results indicate that although transurethral prostatectomy was generally associated with deterioration in various aspects of sexual expression, grouping subjects according to age and presurgery sexual adjustment qualified these general findings dramatically. For example, more younger than older males retained or attained good sexual adjustment after surgery. Furthermore, while older males with good presurgery sexual adjustment maintained good couple sexual functioning, they manifested greater loss of sexual self-confidence and individual sexual capacity than did their younger counterparts. In addition, the findings suggest that the question "Does transurethral prostatectomy affect sexual function?" must be rephrased to take into account changes in the cognitive, capacity, and affective domains as well as in the couple behavior and adjustment dimensions of sexual expression.