[Urinary incontinence following total prostatectomy--evaluation by urodynamics and urethrography].

Urinary incontinence following total prostatectomy was evaluated in 10 patients by urodynamics and lateral urethrography. The pathological stage of the tumors in these patients was pT2 in 5 patients, pT3 in 3 patients and pT4 in 2 patients. Urinary incontinence was present in 8 patients, of whom 7 were stress incontinence and one was urge and stress incontinence. The severity of incontinence of these patients was mild in 5 patients, moderate in 3 and severe in 2. The incontinence was severer in the patients with the tumors of pT3 or pT4 than in the patients with the tumors of pT2. But the severity of incontinence was not related to the pathological grade or resected weight of the tumors. The bladder capacity and bladder compliance were 214.9 ml and 14.3 ml/cmH2O in average, respectively, and was not related to severity of incontinence. The statistical significant differences between continence or mild incontinence patients and moderate or severe incontinence patients were found for the mean functional profile length (2.04 versus 1.37 cm, respectively; p < 0.05) and maximum urethral closure pressure (42.3 versus 17.3 cmH2O, respectively; p < 0.05). But some patients with continence or mild incontinence demonstrated low values in either parameters. No statistical difference was found between continence and mild incontinence patients. On lateral urethrography, the posterior urethrovesical angle was not correlated with the severity of incontinence.