How Bad Is The Pain After Prostate Surgery
The level of pain is lower than that of open prostatectomy, due to smaller incisions. However, you will be administered pain medication both orally and intravenously, through an IV. Make sure you have someone to pick you up from the hospital, as you wont be able to drive right away. Ask your doctor to recommend some pain medication and dosages that you can take from home most common ones are Tylenol or Ibuprofen. Even though the recovery is fast, you should get plenty of rest and not force yourself with lifting weights or exercises in the first few weeks.
When Should I See My Healthcare Provider
Talk to your healthcare provider if you have any of these symptoms after your surgery:
- Bleeding, swelling or drainage from the incisions.
- Inability to have a bowel movement.
- Inability to urinate after catheter removal.
- Increased pain around the incisions.
A note from Cleveland Clinic
Radical prostatectomy is a common surgery to remove the entire prostate gland. This prostate cancer surgery may be robotic surgery or open surgery. Robotic surgery has a shorter recovery time. Full recovery can take weeks, with some side effects lasting for months. Light exercise and medication can help you heal faster.
Last reviewed by a Cleveland Clinic medical professional on 08/03/2021.
References
How Long Does It Take For The Urethra To Heal After A Prostatectomy
The catheter should be in place until your urethra heals, usually about two or three weeks. A few hours after surgery, most patients are able to walk around and eat a normal dinner. You will probably be able to go home in two or three days.
What not to drink after prostate surgery?
It may be best not to drink too much tea, coffee or alcohol as they can all irritate the bladder. In 3 or 4 weeks, you can gradually return to normal, gentle physical activity. However, you should avoid heavy lifting during this time.
What should I wear after prostate surgery?
Have loose clothing like pajamas, sweatpants, or shorts when you leave the hospital to accommodate the catheter. You do not need to wear sanitary napkins in case of leakage when you leave the hospital.
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Dealing With Prostate Cancer
Being diagnosed and living with prostate cancer can change how you feel about life. If you or your loved one is dealing with prostate cancer you may feel scared, stressed or even angry. There is no right way to feel and everyone reacts differently.
Visit our wellbeing hub for information to help support you in looking after your emotional, mental, and physical wellbeing. If you are close to someone with prostate cancer, find out more about how you can support someone with prostate cancer and where to get more information.
Open Or Laparoscopic Radical Prostatectomy
In the more traditional approach to prostatectomy, called anopen prostatectomy, the surgeon operates through a single long skin incision to remove the prostate and nearby tissues. This type of surgery is done less often than in the past.
In a laparoscopic prostatectomy, the surgeon makes several smaller incisions and uses special long surgical tools to remove the prostate. The surgeon either holds the tools directly, or uses a control panel to precisely move robotic arms that hold the tools. This approach to prostatectomy has become more common in recent years. If done by experienced surgeons, the laparoscopic radical prostatectomy can give results similar to the open approach.
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What To Expect After Surgery
A prostatectomy is major surgery from which your body needs time to recover. Your doctor will discuss the details of your recovery with you.
Typically patients stay in the hospital overnight after surgery and then need to recuperate at home for a month before returning to work. Most men can start to drive a few weeks after surgery. You should avoid heavy lifting for several weeks after surgery. It usually takes about six weeks for most men to feel back to normal.
This page provides general information about what you can expect in the first hours and days right after surgery. You may also want to read more about:
Days Before Your Surgery
Follow your healthcare providers instructions for taking aspirin
If you take aspirin or a medication that contains aspirin, you may need to change your dose or stop taking it 7 days before your surgery. Aspirin can cause bleeding.
Follow your healthcare providers instructions. Do not stop taking aspirin unless they tell you to.
For more information, read Common Medications Containing Aspirin, Other Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs , or Vitamin E.
Stop taking vitamin E, multivitamins, herbal remedies, and other dietary supplements
Stop taking vitamin E, multivitamins, herbal remedies, and other dietary supplements 7 days before your surgery. These things can cause bleeding.
If your healthcare provider gives you other instructions, follow those instead.
For more information, read Herbal Remedies and Cancer Treatment.
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While In The Hospital
It’s important to your recovery to start moving as soon as possible. Most men are out of bed and walking around the unit on the same day as their surgery. Your nurse will assist you until you can manage on your own. When you first get up, raise the head of your bed, take a couple of deep breaths, and allow your body to adjust to the change in position. Dangle your feet over the side of the bed for a few minutes, then slowly stand up. Be careful because getting up too quickly can make you light-headed.
Get out of bed at least three times each day preferably more. This helps prevent lung infections and blood clots. You may be prescribed an injectable blood thinner to further reduce the risk of blood clots. The more time you spend out of bed, the faster you will recover and the faster your bowel function will return to normal. Your nurse will also give you an oral stool softener and mild laxative to prevent constipation.
In addition to walking, you will be encouraged to do two other things that help prevent complications: Use an incentive spirometer , and wear compression stockings while in bed. Both will be provided and the nurses will instruct you on how to use them.
Case Reportan Unusual Localization Of Seven Months Delayed Pelvic Lymphocele Following Radical Retropubic Prostatectomy: Case Report And Literature Review
Lymphocele after radical prostatectomy leading major complications is rare.
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Lymphocele is the most common cause of hospital readmission after radical prostatectomy.
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Lymphocele can be seen in atypical regions after radical prostatectomy.
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Percutaneous interventions can be used for pelvic lymphocele treatment.
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Surgery To Remove Prostate Cancer
Surgery is one of the main treatments for prostate cancer. You usually have surgery to remove your prostate gland. This is a radical prostatectomy.
A radical prostatectomy is a major operation with some possible side effects. You may not need this type of surgery if you’re an older man with a slow growing prostate cancer. This is because your cancer might grow so slowly that you’re more likely to die of old age or other causes than from prostate cancer.
Scrotal And Penile Swelling
Together with bruising, this may appear immediately after surgery or within 4 5 days. Any scrotal swelling will resolve in 7 -14 days. If scrotal swelling occurs, it can reduced by elevating the scrotum on a small towel that you have rolled up when you are sitting or lying. Even with the catheter in place, it is recommended that you wear supportive underwear.
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Side Effects Of Prostate Surgery
The major possible side effects of radical prostatectomy are urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction . These side effects can also occur with other forms of prostate cancer treatment.
Urinary incontinence: You may not be able to control your urine or you may have leakage or dribbling. Being incontinent can affect you not only physically but emotionally and socially as well. These are the major types of incontinence:
- Men with stress incontinence might leak urine when they cough, laugh, sneeze, or exercise. Stress incontinence is the most common type after prostate surgery. It’s usually caused by problems with the valve that keeps urine in the bladder . Prostate cancer treatments can damage this valve or the nerves that keep the valve working.
- Men with overflow incontinence have trouble emptying their bladder. They take a long time to urinate and have a dribbling stream with little force. Overflow incontinence is usually caused by blockage or narrowing of the bladder outlet by scar tissue.
- Men with urge incontinencehave a sudden need to urinate. This happens when the bladder becomes too sensitive to stretching as it fills with urine.
- Rarely after surgery, men lose all ability to control their urine. This is called continuous incontinence.
After surgery for prostate cancer, normal bladder control usually returns within several weeks or months. This recovery usually occurs slowly over time.
There are several options for treating erectile dysfunction:
Complications And Recovery After Prostate Surgery
The healing process and possible complications should be well monitored after prostate cancer. As with any surgery, postoperative care and the recovery process is important after prostate surgery. Some complications such as bleeding and pain are quite common in the postoperative period of prostate surgery. In addition, it is recommended to check the patient for the signs of infection in the surgical site.
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When To Call Your Doctor Or Nurse
Its important to tell your doctor or nurse if:
- your bladder feels full or your catheter isnt draining urine
- your catheter leaks or falls out
- your urine contains blood clots, turns cloudy, dark or red, or has a strong smell
- your wound area or the tip of your penis becomes red, swollen or painful
- you have a fever
- you feel sick or vomit
- you get cramps in your stomach area that will not go away
- you get pain or swelling in the muscles in your lower legs.
Your doctor or nurse will let you know if you should go to the hospital.
Why Is Radical Prostatectomy Done
Radical prostatectomy is a treatment for prostate cancer that prevents cancer from spreading outside the prostate gland. It may cure prostate cancer by removing it completely.
For patients diagnosed with prostate cancer, additional tests may be needed to determine the how far the cancer has spread. These tests help your provider decide if you are a candidate for radical prostatectomy:
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What Can I Expect Before And After Robotic Prostatectomy
If after consulting with Dr. Engel, becoming educated on the topic of prostate cancer, potentially seeking other opinions, and being presented all options, a patient opts for robotic prostatectomy, he will then be taken extensively through what to expect. Dr. Engel currently performs robotic surgery exclusively at George Washington University Hospital, and a date and time will be scheduled for surgery there. The patient will generally be urged to see his internist for a pre-operative physical, although this can also be accomplished at the hospital itself. Tests to rule out spread of cancer such as a bone scan and CT scan, looking for spread to bones and lymph nodes, may be performed in higher risk cases. The patient will be given detailed instructions regarding a bowel preparation regimen and the patient must follow this strictly. The purpose of the bowel prep is not only to create more space in the abdomen, but also for safety in the very unlikely event that there is an inadvertent injury to the intestine or rectum during the surgery. If this occurs, a bowel prep will likely keep this from being a life threatening problem.
Postoperative Care After Prostate Surgery
After a healthy operation and discharge, there are some rules that you must follow. There is a risk of bleeding for the first several months after surgery. Therefore, there are some points to take into consideration. The length of the recovery period after prostate cancer surgery varies depending on some conditions. There are factors such as the type of surgery, the stage of disease, and the patient’s health status. However, overall recovery time is short.
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When You Might Have A Radical Prostatectomy
Your doctor might recommend a radical prostatectomy if:
- your cancer hasn’t spread outside the prostate gland. This is localised prostate cancer
- your cancer has broken through the covering of the prostate and spread to the area just outside the prostate gland. This is locally advanced prostate cancer
- you are well enough to have this operation
The aim of a radical prostatectomy operation is to cure prostate cancer.
What Changes Do I Need To Make To My Diet
Discuss your post-surgery diet with your doctor as you will probably want to avoid or at least minimize issues such as constipation. The lack of exercise, the medication, even the stress, might affect your bowel functions. Your diet will be focused on eating more vegetables, fruits, grains and avoiding meat, especially the red one, pasta, alcohol, fast-food, sugar and processed desserts.
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Why Laparoscopic Surgery Causes Gas
A laparoscopic surgeon will first make a small incision to pass a long, thin Veress needle into the abdominal cavity, being sure to avoid the organs. Then the gas is passed through the needle to inflate the abdomen, causing the abdominal wall to form a dome over the organs. Having the abdominal cavity inflated and the abdominal wall separated from the organs gives the surgeon room to operate without making large incisions. Other small incisions are made to pass the small instruments to perform the surgery.
At the end of the operation, the abdomen is allowed to deflate. However, it is not possible to remove all of the gas. The little bit that is left behind can irritate the peritoneum the lining over the abdominal organs and sometimes the organs themselves. A patient may experience this as sharp or achy pains.
In addition, the CO2 can settle up under the diaphragm, the muscle that helps you breathe. You might experience this as irritation in the lower chest and even all the way up into the shoulder.
This type of pain can be quite uncomfortable and may last several days. It will eventually resolve on its own but can be aided by walking and moving around. In this case,pain medications may be helpful and will not make this type of gas pain worse.
Urinary Incontinence After Prostate Surgery
Urinary incontinence and/or inability to urinate are the common side effects after prostate surgery. This side effect usually ends in a short time.
Transient urinary incontinence develops in consequence of disruption or discomfort in the sphincter muscles which control the release of urine. This type of incontinence is generally similar to the stress incontinence that women often experience after vaginal delivery.
After prostate cancer surgery, the goal is basically to recover quickly, have full control over the bladder and become sexually active again.
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Removal Of The Catheter
Your catheter will be removed by the clinic nurse at Urology Care Wellington 7-14 days after surgery. This is straightforward. You will be given an antibiotic tablet at the time of catheter removal. Afterward, you will be monitored by the nurse to make sure that you are able to pass urine. She will check your wounds are healing and will discuss the use of pads and pelvic floor exercises.
Most patients have some incontinence when the catheter is taken out and most are pad-free three months after surgery. Over nine out of ten are pad-free after a year. We recommend that you start the pelvic floor exercises as soon as your catheter is removed and repeat them every day.
To be prepared for your catheter removal and any temporary urine leakage, you should ensure that you have your own supply of pads at home prior to attending for catheter removal. Bring two pads to your appointment for catheter removal.
Things You Should Expect After Prostate Surgery
Prostate removal is a major type of surgery and requires time for the body to recover. Even though robotic prostatectomy using the Da Vinci robot has less severe effects on the body and the patient can leave the hospital the same day, men should expect some changes in order to know how to deal with them. The surgery is performed through small incisions that are barely sensitive at the incision sites and the scar tissue is almost unnoticeable. Typically, the recovery is fast, most men are able to go home the next day and resume driving and working in two to three weeks after the surgery.
In the immediate hours after surgery:
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Caring For The Incision
You will be able to take a shower the second day after your surgery. You may continue to have some discharge at the drain site for three to five days. Once you leave the hospital, the key words on caring for the drain site and incisions are clean and dry. Showering once a day and gently patting the area with a clean towel should be sufficient.
What Happens During Surgery
Your surgeon will put a small needle just below your belly button, into your abdominal cavity. The needle is connected to a small tube that passes carbon dioxide into the belly. This lifts the abdominal wall to give the surgeon a better view once the laparoscope is in place.
Next, a small cut will be made near your belly button. The laparoscope is placed through this incision and is connected to a video camera. The image your surgeon sees in the laparoscope is projected onto video monitors placed near the operating table.
Before the surgery, the surgeon will take a thorough look at your abdominal cavity to make sure the laparoscopy procedure will be safe for you. If the surgeon sees scar tissue, infection, or abdominal disease, the procedure will not be continued.
If the surgeon decides the surgery can be safely performed, more small cuts will be made, giving them access to the abdominal cavity. If necessary, one of these small incisions may be enlarged to remove the pelvic lymph nodes.
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