Also, each person reacts differently. Doctors try to plan the patient's therapy to keep problems to a minimum. They watch patients very closely so they can help with any problems that occur. In the past, surgery to remove the prostate often caused permanent impotence and sometimes caused urinary incontinence. Today, these side effects do not occur as often as in the past.
Many surgeons use new techniques, especially when operating on men with fairly small tumors.
These techniques may allow surgeons to avoid permanent injury to the nerves that control erection and damage to the opening of the bladder. Men may regain potency and total urinary control within several months to a year after surgery. However, men who have a prostatectomy no longer produce semen, so they have dry orgasms. Although some men find this upsetting, it need not affect sexual pleasure. Radiation therapy also causes impotence in some men.