Improved patient-reported functional outcomes after nerve-sparing radical prostatectomy by using NeuroSAFE technique

Purpose: To explore whether prostatectomized men report improved post-operative erectile function and urinary control dependent on the application of intra-operative frozen section examination (NeuroSAFE) during nerve-sparing radical prostatectomies (NS-RPs). Methods: Pre- and post-RP responses to the sexual domain and the urinary incontinence subscale of EPIC-26 were analyzed in 95 and 312 men from a NeuroSAFEGroup (Martini-Klinik, Hamburg, Germany) and a Non-NeuroSAFE Group (Oslo University Hospital, Norway), respectively, undergoing NS-RPs for ≤ cT2 prostate cancer. All patients had intra-prostatic tumors as evaluated by Digital Rectal Examination. Statistical significance in bivariate and multi-variable analyses: p