TY - JOUR TI - Local steroid application during nerve-sparing radical retropubic prostatectomy AU - Deliveliotis, C AU - Delis, A AU - Papatsoris, A AU - Antoniou, N and AU - Varkarakis, IM JO - BJU international (Papier) PY - 2005 VL - 96 TODO - 4 SP - 533-535 PB - Wiley SN - null TODO - 10.1111/j.1464-410X.2005.05679.x TODO - prostate cancer; radical prostatectomy; management; steroids TODO - Objective To evaluate the effect on potency rates after surgery of applying local steroids to the neurovascular bundles (NVBs) of the prostate after bilateral nerve-sparing radical retropubic prostatectomy (BNS-RRP). Patients and Methods Sixty potent men undergoing BNS-RRP for clinically localized prostate cancer were prospectively randomized equally into two groups. In group 1, 10 mL of betamethasone cream 0.1% was applied locally to both NVBs, and group 2 had only the usual BNS-RRP with no corticoid cream. Complications and potency were evaluated at 3, 6 and 12 months in all patients and compared between the groups. Results At 12 months, 57% and 60% of patients were potent in group 1 and 2, respectively; the respective mean International Index of Erectile Function (5-item) scores were 14.76 and 15.43 (P = 0.59). Potency rates at 3, 6 and 12 months were not significantly different between the groups, and the continence rates at 12 months were also similar, with 93% and 90% of patients in groups 1 and 2 being continent, respectively. Ten and five patients in groups 1 and 2, respectively, required a blood transfusion (P = 0.23). There were no fistulae, wound dehiscence or rectal perforations. One patient in group 2 presented 4 months after RRP with a bladder neck contracture. Conclusions Local application of betamethasone does not improve or expedite the recovery of erectile function after BNS-RRP, but there were no complications associated with its use. ER -