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Radical Prostatectomy vs. Radiation therapy?
Prostate Cancer | Last Active: Apr 21 7:39pm | Replies (52)Comment receiving replies
@wwsmith
I’m a little puzzled by your 5 to 10% statement. Men have two sphincter, unlike women who only have one.
Men lose the internal urethral sphincter (or bladder neck sphincter) during a radical prostatectomy, as it is removed along with the prostate gland. While this involuntary muscle is lost, the voluntary external urethral sphincter remains, and it is strengthened to regain bladder control.
The external Sphincter can get damaged during the surgery, That’s what causes the problem with incontinence. Apparently, it doesn’t happen to everybody.
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@jeffmarc I had to find the old post where I first saw those numbers and now I realize that what the poster was trying to say was that only about 5% of the internal urethral sphincter muscle was left after an RP. As you point out, the external urethral sphincter muscle is left after an RP, although sometimes damaged, but it requires a lot of voluntary control work learned through kegels to regain continence that was once handled without thought by the internal urethral sphincter muscle.