Erectile dysfunction is an underdiagnosed consequence of low anterior resection and abdominoperineal resection for colorectal cancer

• Published in: Updates in surgery 2024-12, Vol.76 (8), p.2787-2794
• Main Authors: Gaffney, Christopher D., Punjani, Nahid, Brant, Aaron, Fainberg, Jonathan, Voleti, Sandeep Sai, Zheng, Xinyan, Sedrakyan, Art, Garrett, Kelly A., Kashanian, James A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abdomen - surgery; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Colectomy - adverse effects; Colectomy - methods; Colorectal Neoplasms - surgery; Erectile Dysfunction - diagnosis; Erectile Dysfunction - epidemiology; Erectile Dysfunction - etiology; Humans; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Original Article; Perineum - surgery; Postoperative Complications - epidemiology; Postoperative Complications - etiology; Proctectomy - adverse effects; Proctectomy - methods; SEER Program; Surgery
• ISSN: 2038-131X; 2038-3312; 2038-3312
• DOI: 10.1007/s13304-024-02005-z

To explore the frequency and predictive factors of erectile dysfunction diagnosis after colorectal cancer surgery. The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results—Medicare database was used to identify a national sample of men undergoing surgery for colorectal cancer from 2004 to 2015. Men aged > 65 years with any index surgery within 1 year of diagnosis of colorectal cancer were included. Men with a history of prior erectile dysfunction, metastatic cancer, or genitourinary cancer prior to their index procedure were excluded. The primary outcome was a new diagnosis of erectile dysfunction within 2 years of the index procedure. A total of 28,248 men aged > 65 years who underwent colorectal cancer surgery were identified. The rates of erectile dysfunction diagnosis 2 years after surgery were 3.6% for hemicolectomy, 5.3% for low anterior resection, and 6.4% for abdominoperineal resection. On multivariable analysis, low anterior resection (HR: 1.27, 95%CI 1.08 to 1.51, p