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Rectal Cancer-Associated Urinary Dysfunction: a Review

  • Cancer-Associated Voiding Dysfunction (OL Westney, Section Editor)
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Abstract

Urinary dysfunction may result from damage to the nerve supply during pelvic dissection or by the anatomical changes created by altering the physical structure of the pelvis. This problem may occur after appropriate oncologic resection of rectal cancer adhering to the globally accepted tenets of total mesorectal excision with either anterior resection or abdominoperineal resection. The most frequent type of urinary dysfunction is urinary retention, a transient problem which occurs in up to 25 % of men and 15 % of women. Fortunately, more severe chronic dysfunctions including voiding difficulty and incontinence are less common. Laparoscopy may confer a protective benefit although definitive evidence of a lower rate of dysfunction as compared to laparotomy remains elusive.

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Conflict of Interest

Steven D. Wexner declares payment for being a consultant for Incontinence Devices, Inc.; Mederi Therapeutics; Medtronic, Inc.; Renew Medical; and Salix Therapeutics.

Nadav Haim declares no conflict of interest.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Colorectal Surgery, Cleveland Clinic Florida, Weston, FL, USA

    Nadav Haim & Steven D. Wexner

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  1. Nadav Haim
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  2. Steven D. Wexner
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Correspondence to Steven D. Wexner.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Cancer-Associated Voiding Dysfunction

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Haim, N., Wexner, S.D. Rectal Cancer-Associated Urinary Dysfunction: a Review. Curr Bladder Dysfunct Rep 10, 118–124 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11884-015-0298-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11884-015-0298-3

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