Survey on consenting practice and discussion of post-operative erectile dysfunction following rectal cancer surgery:

Introduction:Sexual dysfunction is a recognized complication of rectal cancer surgery, due to the close proximity of the pelvic autonomic nerves to the normal plane of dissection. The consenting process should therefore always include the risk of sexual and urinary dysfunction arising after such surgery. This survey was undertaken to assess the consenting practice, and to evaluate the frequency of use of phosphodiesterase Type 5 (PDE5) inhibitors to treat erectile dysfunction (ED) following rectal cancer surgery.Methods:All listed Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland (ACPGBI) members were invited to participate in the electronic survey, which comprised six questions. By 8 weeks, 119 responses had been received.Results:There were 112 respondents (94.1%) who routinely discussed the risk of ED during the process of gaining consent for rectal cancer surgery. There were 104 respondents (87.3%) who documented ED on their consent form. There were 24 respondents (20.2%) who indicated that th...