Alternative approaches to nerve sparing: Techniques and outcomes

Abstract

The preservation of sexual potency after prostatectomy has always been the topic of much anxiety and debate. While cancer control and urinary continence are of supreme importance, the preservation of sexual function completes the trifecta that both patient and surgeon strive to achieve. Over the decades open nerve sparing radical prostatectomy has continued to evolve from its early rudimentary beginnings into the more refined techniques that we see today. However, while we have seen considerable advances in recent times the limitations in visualization and dissection of the bundle have continued to provide a challenge to even the most experienced surgeon. © 2007 Springer-Verlag London Limited.