[Urinary incontinence following prostatectomy: hopes and disappointments. 42 cases (author's transl)]

Between 0,5 and 1% of prostatectomies are complicated by urinary incontinence due to the destruction of both proximal and distal urethral sphincters. Any incontinence persisting more than 12 months after surgery should be considered as permanent. Among all treatments proposed (medical treatment, electrical stimulation of the perineum, various plastic operations and prostheses with varied and numerous materials), only inflatable prostheses seem to give "better than nothing results. The best treatment of post-operative incontinence, however, is preventive: extreme care should be exercised during the enucleation or trans-urethral resection of the adenoma.