Polytetrafluoroethylene injection for post-prostatectomy incontinence: experience with 20 patients during 3 years

We treated 20 men who were incontinent after prostatectomy and who had failed sphincter exercises with periurethral polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon or Polytef) injections. Injections were done with the patient under brief general or spinal anesthesia as an outpatient or during a 24-hour hospitalization. Incontinence was due to radical prostatectomy in 17 patients and simple prostatectomy for benign disease in 3. Most patients had more than 1 injection and mean followup was 17 months. Of the 20 men 7 (35%) reported long-term improvement and 4 (20%) recommend the procedure to others. Complications were limited to 1 spontaneously resolving 48-hour bout of urinary retention and 1 episode of perineal polytetrafluoroethylene migration that produced pain for 3 months. We found the procedure to be simple, generally well tolerated and capable of producing clinical improvement in a significant minority of patients in whom it was used.