Men Suffer Smaller Penises After Prostate Cancer Surgery

May 10, 2005 -- "Smaller penises result from undergoing the radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer," warns Dr. Bradley Hennenfent, author of the new book, "Surviving Prostate Cancer Without Surgery" (Roseville Books, 2005).

"I can personally testify that I lost about an inch of penile length," says Aubrey Pilgrim, who underwent a radical prostatectomy, "and it takes a lot of stimulation to have an orgasm and of course it's not the same."

According to Dr. Hennenfent, another study [Savoie, et al.] directly warns physicians that, "Men should be counseled before radical prostatectomy that penile shortening may occur." The Savoie study found significantly smaller penises in 124 men after prostate cancer surgery.

Interested men should read the chapter inside "Surviving Prostate Cancer Without Surgery" entitled: "The Radical Prostatectomy and Your Penis, " as the book includes diagrams that realistically illustrate the damage done by the radical prostatectomy to male sexual function and penis size.

The book also reveals other penile side effects suffered after the radical prostatectomy including: loss of sensation to the penis (penis feels dead), a cold penis, or a penis that feels shriveled as if coming out of a cold swimming pool. Men variously described orgasms after the radical prostatectomy as "only a shadow," "possible," "have them but different," "some pain," and "not sure it happens."

Why does the radical prostatectomy damage the penis so much? "The operation removes the prostate and seminal vesicles and removing these structures leaves a gap that is sometimes filled by pulling the penis up into the body, effectively shortening it," says Dr. Hennenfent. "In addition, nerve branches, arteries, and veins in the pelvis are always severed by the radical prostatectomy. These missing structures can no longer nourish the penis and it atrophies. One study suggests that the erectile tissue in the penis actually dies off after the radical prostatectomy."