VIDEO ANSWER

"I orgasm but don't ejaculate" after prostate surgery: is it dangerous?

Dr. Fernando Gómez Sancha · Urologist · Medical Director of ICUA

Video published: · 0:31

Playing the video connects to YouTube in privacy-enhanced mode.

Original video description

After prostate surgery (for example HoLEP or TURP for benign enlargement), many men notice that orgasm still feels pleasurable but no semen comes out. This is retrograde ejaculation — the most common side effect of this kind of surgery.

What happens? Instead of going outward, the semen passes back into the bladder and is later cleared in the urine. It is not harmful, it causes no damage, and you feel nothing unusual when you urinate.

Most importantly: retrograde ejaculation is NOT the same as erection. Your ability to get an erection is not affected by this.

Knowing this before surgery helps you decide with peace of mind and no surprises.

Dr. Fernando Gómez Sancha — Urologist, ICUA (Institute of Advanced Urological Surgery), Madrid. 10,000+ prostate enucleations and an international HoLEP expert.

Subtitle text

Automatic YouTube captions; they may contain errors.

After prostate surgery, many men notice they have [music] a normal orgasm, but ejaculate dry. Let's take the drama out of it. It's called retrograde ejaculation. Instead of going outward, the semen [music] goes back into the bladder and is then passed in the urine.

It isn't harmful, it does no damage, and you feel nothing odd when you urinate. It's the most [music] common effect of this kind of surgery. What matters is that you know it before surgery, [music] and that you don't confuse it with the erection, which is a different thing that is normally not affected.