Quality of life in patients treated with orthotopic bladder substitution versus cutaneous ileostomy]

Nowadays, psychcological and social aspects of treatment of urinary diversion after cystectomy, have become of utmost importance. Body image, potency, continence, emotional distress and dissatisfaction, functional and social activities are majors factors to improve quality of life after surgery. The aim of this study is to compare health-related quality of life after bladder substitution with ileal conduit diversion.We developed a questionnaire based upon a literature review, to compare health related quality of life between bladder substitution and ileal conduit (45 multiple choice mailed questionnaire). We examined functional and social activities, sexual dysfunction, urinary problems, and body image dissatisfaction.78 male patients with bladder cancer, were interviewed. 91% of the questionnaires were answered, 48.7% by patients' family and 42.3% by the patients themselves. 6 patients underwent ileal conduit and 27 underwent bladder substitution. Patients with ileal consuit presented higher body image dissatisfaction than those who underwent bladder substitution. When urine leakage occurred it caused more distress to the conduit patients, indicating urinary leakage as their main problem. Bladder substitution patients did not consider continence problems as very important, they had not interrupted social activities such as travelling or seeing friends. 100% of bladder substitution patients would not mind to undergo this operation again, while only 66% of ileal conduit patients would.Health-related quality of life is higher after bladder substitution. In our opinion we should use bladder substitution as the standard method of diversion after radical cystectomy for bladder cancer.