| Viagra may help after prostate surgery
For some men who have just had a nerve-sparing prostatectomy, taking Viagra every night appears to help them regain spontaneous night time erections and thus may help them eventually resume sexual activity, according to the study findings of the American Urological Association.
So-called "nerve-sparing" prostatectomy is a procedure that removes the prostate while hopefully retaining the ability to have erections after surgery. Prior to this procedure impotency frequently followed radical prostatectomy. With this procedure the erectile function is often impaired because of tissue death and nerve damage.
Viagra is typically prescribed for patients with erectile dysfunction to aid response during sexual stimulation. However, this study examined the drug's impact on spontaneous night time erections - the idea being that these erections could help deliver oxygen to the penile tissue and thus help with healing and the eventual recovery of the men's sex lives.
The researchers studied 76 men who had normal erectile function before surgery. Patients underwent prostatectomy and received Viagra, 50mg or 100mg, or a placebo pill, for a period of 36 weeks beginning four weeks after surgery.
It was found that almost a third of the patients receiving Viagra had a return of spontaneous erectile function compared with only 4% who took a placebo. No serious treatment-related side effects were reported.
"Nightly administration of (Viagra) for nine months (after surgery) increased the return of spontaneous erections seven-fold compared with placebo and was well tolerated," and should be considered as an additional treatment, the researchers conclude.
According to Dr. Padma-Nathan, the treatment in this study was not designed to produce erections for intercourse, just erections during sleep. "They might not have been very good erections and [Viagra] doesn't work very well until about nine to 18 months after surgery," he says. But clearly the results point to consideration of this therapy in patients undergoing nerve-sparing prostatectomy.
Some institutions have suggested using a vacuum device regularly to keep elasticity of tissue. But (Viagra) only seems to work in patients who have had nerve-sparing prostatectomy.
Source:WebMD Health
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