Male incontinence is not uncommon following surgery for prostate cancer, but the majority of those affected by the condition are not significantly bothered, according to a US survey.

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix polled 315 men, aged 42 to 82 years, who had their prostate removed.
The findings, which were reported by Reuters news agency, show that just one in four patients were not experiencing any bladder leakage a year or more after their operation.

However, more than three-quarters said they did not rely on incontinence pads for men, and just five per cent of respondents claimed to be significantly bothered by adult incontinence.

The majority of leakages among the 17 per cent of men who reported using more than one incontinence pad per day occurred during exercise, coughing or sneezing. Lead researcher Dr Erik Castle, associate professor of urology at the Mayo Clinic, told Reuters: "The bottom line is that many men, after having their prostate removed, will have some impact on the way they urinate.
"But the degree of the impact is minimal."

Dr Castle added that while the majority of patients do experience some degree of urinary incontinence, most are "still very happy".
More than 34,000 cases of prostate cancer are diagnosed each year in the UK, according to Cancer Research UK.