Effects of early pelvic floor muscle training on early recovery of urinary incontinence after prostate surgery

Abstract

Purpose: Postprostate surgeries urinary incontinence (UI) is one of the common bothersome complications of prostate surgery. Pelvic floor muscle exercises (PFME) have been reported to have benefits in shortening postoperative recovery time of UI. The aim of our study is to evaluate the efficacy of intensive schedule of PFME and pelvic muscle electrical stimulation in improving the recovery of postoperative UI. Materials and Methods: We prospectively enrolled 72 patients (63 Benign prostate hyperplasia [BPH] and 9 prostate cancer [PC]) who received transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP), anatomical endoscopic enucleation of the prostate (AEEP), Radical prostatectomy (RP) from January 2019 to December 2020. Twenty-seven patients who are unable to remove Foley catheter before discharge or loss follow-up were excluded. Finally, we enrolled 44 patients (35 BPH and 9 PC). All patients were assessed using the pad test, International Prostate Symptom Score, and Overactive Bladder Symptom Score. Abdominal ultrasonography or transrectal ultrasound of prostate was used to measure prostate volume and the postvoid residual urine volume. Results: The rate of UI was 60% and 88.9% immediately after removing the Foley catheter in TURP/AEEP and RP groups respectively. The incontinence rates in TURP/AEEP were 34.2%, 20%, and 3% after 2 weeks, 1 month, and 3 months' postoperation. In the RP group, the incontinence rate was 55.6%, 44.4% after 2 weeks, and 1 month postoperation. The pad amount was 63.11 ± 52.9 g, 37.89 ± 52.99 g, and 13.22 ± 18.48 g after 2 weeks, 1 month, and 3 months' postoperation. Conclusion: We demonstrated early intensive PFME program can shorten the recovery time of UI after prostate surgery.