Comparison of Adjuvant Radiation Therapy Before or After Artificial Urinary Sphincter Placement: A Multi-Institutional, Retrospective Analysis

To determine if the timing of radiation therapy on artificial urinary sphincter (AUS) impacts complication rates, revision rates, and number of pads per day after placement.A retrospective review was conducted of men with prostate cancer who underwent AUS placement and radiation therapy between 1987 and 2016.Of 306 men, 292 (95.4%) received radiation before AUS placement (group 1) and 14 (4.6%) received radiation after AUS placement (group 2). Median follow-up was 30 months after AUS placement. Group 1 had 32 of 292 (11.0%) patients suffer from erosion, compared with 0 of 14 (0.0%) patients in group 2 (P = .191). None of the patients in group 2 had infection or mechanical failure. The number of patients who received revision in group 1 was 91 of 292 (31.2%) and in group 2 was 2 of 14 (14.3%) (P = .180). The number of pads used per day in group 1 before and after AUS placement was 5.24 ± 3.12 and 1.13 ± 1.31, respectively (P .001). In group 2, the number of pads used per day before and after AUS placement was 6.09 ± 1.97 and 1.53 ± 0.99, respectively (P .001). There was no significant difference in the average number of postoperative pads used per day between group 1 and group 2 (P = .907).The timing of radiation therapy does not appear to significantly affect complication rates or urinary continence, as measured in pads used after AUS placement. This multi-institutional retrospective analysis showed similar erosion and revision rates when radiation occurred after AUS placement and demonstrates preliminary safety and feasibility of the administration of radiation after AUS placement.