Materials and Methods: Data of patients with open radical prostatectomy between January 2019 and July 2022, in a tertiary academic health center were retrospectively reviewed. Patient" characteristics, perioperative parameters and postoperative follow-up results were recorded. Patients were divided into two groups as those who did Kegel exercises in the preoperative period and those who did not, and groups were compared.

Results: There were 38 patients in the Kegel exercise group and 40 patients in the other group. Postoperative 1st month and postoperative 3rd month incontinence rates were similar between the groups (p=0.406, and p=0.387). At 6th months postoperatively, the rate of incontinence in the Kegel group was 7.9%, while it was 25.0% in the other group (p=0.043). Similarly, the rate of incontinence at 1st year postoperatively was significantly lower in the Kegel group (5.3% vs 20.0%, p=0.001). At 6 months postoperatively, the QoL score in the Kegel positive group was 86, while it was 65 in the other group (p=0.001). In the postoperative 1st year controls, the quality of life (QoL) score was statistically significantly higher in patients with preoperative Kegel exercise (p=0.001).

Conclusion: Our study demonstrated that preoperative Kegel exercises had a significant positive effect on continence rate after radical prostatectomy in the postoperative 6th month and in the first year follow-up, and preparative Kegel exercises were significantly associated with higher quality of life scores at 6^th months and 1^st year follow-up.