OBJECTIVES: Male urinary incontinence is nowadays a rare event in patients submitted to radical prostatectomy. In these cases, insertion on a hydraulic prosthesis is often the only therapeutical solution. Complications following this type of surgery are rare and when they occur, generally depend on the bacterial contamination of the device which will be "rejected". The cuff is generally the first cause of infection and its prompt removal should solve the problem in the majority of the cases. METHODS: Herein we report the case of a patient submitted to cuff removal three years earlier who consulted for a symptomless circumscribed peritonitis due to bacterial contamination of the intraperitoneal reservoir. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: This report emphasizes the need to re-examine the indications for intraperitoneal implantation of the reservoir. Moreover, in case of a three-component prosthetic device, the external components (pump, cylinders and/or cuff) should be removed in a single step, at the same time, in order to avoid future contamination of the internal components.
