Sexual dysfunction after elective laparoscopic or endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair in men

Infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair can lead to ejaculation and erection troubles in men. There are few studies on sexual dysfunction after endovascular repair (EVAR) but they suggest less retrograde ejaculation than after open repair. We assessed the sexual dysfunction and ejaculation troubles after elective laparoscopic repair or EVAR.

We conducted a monocentric prospective study on 124 patients undergoing AAA repair between 2013 and 2015. Sexual function was evaluated using the IIEF-15 questionnaire and questions on ejaculation.

Only 45 patients (36.3%) accepted to complete the IIEF preoperatively with 20-37.8% having preoperative sexual dysfunction. Among them, 21 (46.7%) accepted to complete the questionnaire at 3, 6 and 12 months. Mean age at inclusion was 65±5.6 years in the laparoscopic group and 77±10.5 years in the EVAR group (P=0.003). Erectile and sexual function were slightly improved at 12 months in the laparoscopic group (+1.4 for erectile score and +4.6 for IIEF score) with no significant difference (P=0.83 and 0.74) whereas 8 patients (61.5%) had persistent ejaculation troubles at 3 months. In the EVAR group, patients had moderate sexual dysfunction at baseline without improvement at 12 months, but only one patient reported ejaculation troubles.

Most patients eligible for AAA repair present with baseline erectile and sexual dysfunction. Laparoscopic AAA repair provides no onset of erectile or sexual dysfunction but a global improvement after surgery. Ejaculation troubles are frequent and persistent at 1 year. However, EVAR treatment, doesn't allow recovering of sexual function at 1 year.

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