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Latest News from the ISSM - 19 April 2013 Member Login
Painful Orgasm after Radical Prostatectomy

The bilateral sparing of the seminal vesicles could lead to painful orgasm after radical prostatectomy, European researchers suggest.

Orgasmic difficulties are common after this type of surgery.  Given the importance of orgasm to sexual satisfaction, researchers from Greece, Italy, and Sweden sought to learn more about the prevalence and risk factors for painful orgasm after prostatectomy.

The study participants included 1,288 men who had had either open or robot-assisted prostatectomy. They completed a questionnaire developed specifically for the study and provided information about their quality of life, especially their sexual life. A group of 442 men also participated and served as a control group.

Eighteen percent of the men who had undergone prostatectomy experienced painful orgasms.  For the control group, the rate was 6%.

The degree of sparing of the seminal vesicles and patient age were most associated with painful orgasms.

Surgeons tend to leave the tips of the seminal vesicles during prostatectomy because complete removal may lead to urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction. It's possible that these remaining tips could still contract and emit fluid, causing painful orgasm.

Younger participants tended to have more painful orgasms than older ones, perhaps because the tips of the seminal vesicles were spared more often in younger men.

The study was published online in February in the Journal of Sexual Medicine. Click here for more details.

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