Hi everyone. I am wondering how bad the shrinkage is with radical prostatectomy. When they take out the prostate, they also take the urethra. Prostates are typically an inch or more in length (and thus so is the urethra they take out). They do lower the bladder down when they attach the bladder neck to the urethral 'stump', in order to lessen this problem, but many men still suffer from a loss of size right out of the box, so to speak. Also later on, in the aftermath of the surgery, the nerves are not functioning, thus muscle atrophy can occur, as well as hypoxia (low oxygen levels), due in part to lack of tumesence (engorement). Hypoxia, in turn, can lead to fibrosis. All of this can lead to shrinkage. The best way to ward this off (to the degreee it can) is the early use of some type of vacumn device. So, I am wondering how bad this effect can be. Has anyone had this problem and did you use the device or not and did it get better later on? Thx for the help in advance!
Cheers
Bill
