How Long Does Prostate Surgery Take

What Are Laparoscopic And Robotic Surgery

Laparoscopic and robotic prostate surgery are minimally invasive techniques for performing surgery. Both these procedures allow surgeons to operate through small ports rather than large incisions, resulting in shorter recovery times, fewer complications and reduced hospital stays. Surgical robotics combines minimally invasive surgery with advanced robotic technology.

Immediately After A Prostatectomy

• You will stay in hospital for two to five days.
• Nurses will monitor your vital signs.
• Your pain will be managed with medication.
• You may be given antibiotics to reduce the risk of infection.
• You may have a drip inserted into your arm or hand for a few days.
• You will most likely have a drain tube out of your abdomen that will be removed in the first day or two after the surgery.
• In most cases, you will have to go home still wearing the catheter. You will be taught how to care for it.

How Do I Prepare For Surgery

Your surgeon will meet with you to answer any questions you may have. You will be asked about your health history, and your doctor will give you a general physical exam. If your intestine needs cleaning, you will be given a prescription for a laxative medicine to take the evening before the surgery.

All patients are asked for a blood sample. Depending on your age and general health, you may also have an EKG, a chest X-ray, lung function tests, or other tests to check your body’s ability to handle the stress of surgery.

Finally, you will meet with an anesthesiologist who will discuss the type of anesthesia you will be given for surgery. You will also learn about pain control after the operation, which might include a PCA pump.

You May Like: How Can Someone Get Prostate Cancer

How Long Has Cleveland Clinic Been Performing Laparoscopic Prostatectomies

Cleveland Clinic was the first in the United States to establish laparoscopic prostatectomy program in 1997 and routinely offer this procedure to patients. Our specialists have been performing robotic prostate surgery for the past 5-6 years.

Robotic and Laparoscopic Surgery Offer Advantages in Treatment of Prostate Cancer

Cleveland Clinic was the nation’s first medical center to routinely perform laparoscopic prostate surgery and amongst the first to perform robotic radical prostatectomy. Now laparoscopic and robotic surgery is enabling surgeons to perform this complex minimally invasive surgery with more precision, offering patients improved outcomes. Cleveland Clinic uses the state-of-the-art robotic surgical system that has been approved by the FDA for use in performing many surgical procedures, including radical prostatectomies, general laparoscopic surgery, thoracoscopic surgery, and thoracoscopically-assisted heart procedures.

Keeping Personal Health Records

You and your doctor should work together to develop a personalized follow-up care plan. Be sure to discuss any concerns you have about your future physical or emotional health. ASCO offers forms to help keep track of the cancer treatment you received and develop a survivorship care plan when treatment is completed.

This is also a good time to talk with your doctor about who will lead your follow-up care. Some survivors continue to see their oncologist, while others transition back to the care of their primary care doctor or another health care professional. This decision depends on several factors, including the type and stage of cancer, side effects, health insurance rules, and your personal preferences.

If a doctor who was not directly involved in your cancer care will lead your follow-up care, be sure to share your cancer treatment summary and survivorship care plan forms with them and with all future health care providers. Details about your cancer treatment are very valuable to the health care professionals who will care for you throughout your lifetime.

The next section in this guide is Survivorship. It describes how to cope with challenges in everyday life after a cancer diagnosis. Use the menu to choose a different section to read in this guide.

The word survivorship means different things to different people. Common definitions include:

Survivorship can be a complicated part of having cancer. This is because it is different for everyone.

You May Like: Prostate And Bladder Cancer Survival Rate

Are There New Techniques That Minimize The Chance Of Becoming Incontinent

When removing the prostate, surgeons attempt to conserve as much of the area around the sphincter and the bladder muscles around the urethra as possible, hence curbing damage to the sphincter.

Surgeons have likewise fine-tuned the procedure of putting radioactive seed implants, utilizing advanced computer system forecasts that permit the seeds to damage the prostate while limiting damage to the bladder.

Still, at this point, any male who is going through radiation or surgical treatment to deal with prostate cancer needs to anticipate establishing some issues with urinary control.

Some men will have just temporary issues managing their urine, and lots will gain back complete control of their bladder in time.

Where Prostate Cancer Spreads

If left untreated, diagnosed prostate cancer can grow and possibly spread outside of the prostate to local tissues or distantly to other sites in the body. The first sites of spread are typically to the nearby tissues.

The cancer can spread down the blood vessels, lymphatic channels, or nerves that enter and exit the prostate, or cancer could erode directly through the capsule that surrounds the prostate.

The seminal vesicles are a site of particularly common early spread. More extensive local spread can occur with cancer invading the nearby bladder or rectum.

Further advancement of cancer can occur when cancer cells enter the blood vessels and lymphatic channels. Once cancer has entered into these vessels, prostate cancer cells can seed into virtually any other part of the body.

Prostate cancer is known to have a particular affinity for spreading or metastasizing to the bones especially the lower spine, pelvis, and femur. Other organs such as the liver, brain, or lungs can also be the sites of spread, but these are much rarer.

Donât Miss: How Early Can You Get Prostate Cancer

Also Check: How Is Prostate Test Done

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.

How To Prepare For Your Surgery

Your urologist or doctor will give you specific instructions to prepare for your surgery. Typically, they will want to send you for a few diagnostic tests, like blood draws or X-rays, to verify your general health prior to surgery. Your doctor will also advise if you need to stop taking any of your normal medications.

Dont make any sudden changes without first consulting your doctor. However, there are several easy lifestyle changes you can start doing right now to help your surgery go smoothly and speed up your recovery time.

You May Like: Vitamins For Prostate Health Mayo Clinic

How Long Do I Need To Have A Catheter After A Laparoscopic Prostatectomy

For open surgery, the catheter is removed after two to three weeks. However, with laparoscopic prostatectomy, the catheter is removed seven days after the operation. This is done with the assistance of an X-ray in order to check the status of the site where the urethra has been connected to the bladder.

Dont Miss: Whats The Survival Rate For Prostate Cancer

Is A Turp Major Surgery

TURP is a major surgery with serious risks and potential complications. You may have less invasive treatment options.

Does a TURP remove the entire prostate?

What does a TURP operation involve?

In transurethral resection of the prostate , a combined visual and surgical instrument is inserted through the urethra where its surrounded by prostate tissue. An electrical loop cuts away excess prostate tissue to improve urine flow.

Is TURP still the gold standard?

TURP is still the gold standard even now for small to moderate sized prostate glands which comprise the vast majority of cases in any urology practice. HoLEP has not been able to replace TURP as the gold standard in this regard.

Don’t Miss: Prostate Cancer Treatment In Elderly

Before Surgery Start Your Pelvic Floor Exercises

• These should be started before surgery and only stopped once you are completely continent after the operation.
• Youll be shown how to do the exercises during your pre-operative assessment visit, but essentially these pelvic floor muscles are the ones that you use to interrupt your urine stream. A strong pelvic floor therefore allows you greater control over your continence after the operation.
• More precisely, the muscles aid urinary control whilst your valve of continence recovers from the operation. This valve essentially switches your urine stream on and off, and is affected during surgery. Stitches in the valve take 6 weeks to dissolve and the scar tissue surrounding it takes up to a year to soften, so we need to help it after the operation. By creating a strong pelvic floor with your exercises, the muscles are able to squeeze around this valve and help it to close during the recovery period.

Ill be covering how to perform the exercises in a later article as its slightly out of the scope of this article, but for now there is an excellent guide from Prostate Cancer UK here, as well as a video to watch here.

How To Do The Male Kegel Exercises

*Male Kegel exercise is best done after emptying your bladder. * Tighten the muscles you located above and hold for 3 to 5 seconds, or as long as you can at first. As these muscles get stronger, you will able to hold them longer. * Relax for 3 to 5 seconds or for as long as you tightened the muscles, then repeat. * Breathe normally. * Do 5 to 7 exercises at a time, 3 times a day minimum. As you get stronger, increase up to 15 exercises at a time, 4 times a day. * In addition for more advanced exercises, you might consider incorporating a series of quick flexes into this routine of long flexes. For example, perform 30 quick rapidly. Then 1 long contraction for as long as you can. Then repeat. Add more repetitions as you get stronger. * The key, as with any physical training, is to set up a consistent routine and to perform the exercise properly.

Also Check: Where Is The Prostate Located In A Man

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

You May Like: Focal Laser Ablation Prostate Cancer Cost

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Surgery

What may be important for one person might be less important for someone else. The advantages and disadvantages of surgery may depend on your age, general health and the stage of your cancer.

Advantages

• If the cancer is completely contained inside the prostate, surgery will remove all of the cancer.
• The prostate is looked at under a microscope to give a clearer picture of how aggressive your cancer is, whether it has spread outside your prostate and if you need further treatment.
• Your health professionals can get a good idea of whether your cancer was completely removed during surgery. Your PSA level should drop so low that its not possible to detect it at six to eight weeks after surgery.
• If there are signs that your cancer has come back or wasnt all removed, you may be able to have further treatment.
• Some men find it reassuring to know that their prostate has been physically removed, although you will still need to have follow-up tests to make sure no cancer cells have spread outside the prostate.

Disadvantages

• There are risks in having surgery, as with any major operation.
• You might get side effects such as erection problems and urinary problems.
• Youll need to stay in hospital for a few days usually between one and five days depending on the type of surgery you have.
• If the cancer has started to spread outside the prostate, the surgeon may not be able to remove all of the cancer and you might need further treatment.

Also Check: Prostate Cancer Nursing Care Plan

Surgery For Prostate Cancer

Surgery is a common choice to try to cure prostate cancer if it is not thought to have spread outside the prostate gland.

The main type of surgery for prostate cancer is a radical prostatectomy. In this operation, the surgeon removes the entire prostate gland plus some of the tissue around it, including the seminal vesicles.

What Are The Stages Of Prostate Cancer

Cancer staging is first described using what is called a TNM system. The âTâ refers to a description of the size or extent of the primary, or original, tumor. âNâ describes the presence or absence of, and extent of spread of the cancer to lymph nodes that may be nearby or further from the original tumor. âMâ describes the presence or absence of metastases â usually distant areas elsewhere in the body other than regional lymph nodes to which the cancer has spread. Cancers with specific TNM characteristics are then grouped into stages, and the stages are then assigned Roman numerals with the numerals used in increasing order as the extent of the cancer being staged increases or the cancer prognosis worsens. Prognosis is finally reflected by considering the patientâs PSA score at presentation as well as their Gleason score in assigning a final stage designation.

The American Joint Commission on Cancer system for prostate cancer staging is as follows:

Traditionally, advanced prostate cancer was defined as disease that had widely metastasized beyond the prostate, the surrounding tissue, and the pelvic lymph nodes and was incurable. However, a more contemporary definition includes patients with lower grade disease with an increased risk of progression and/or death from prostate cancer in addition to those with widely metastatic disease.

Read Also: What Is A Fusion Biopsy Of The Prostate

Remission And The Chance Of Recurrence

A remission is when cancer cannot be detected in the body and there are no symptoms. This may also be called having no evidence of disease or NED.

A remission can be temporary or permanent. This uncertainty causes many people to worry that the cancer will come back. Although there are treatments to help prevent a recurrence, such as hormonal therapy and radiation therapy, it is important to talk with your doctor about the possibility of the cancer returning. There are tools your doctor can use, called nomograms, to estimate someones risk of recurrence. Understanding your risk of recurrence and the treatment options may help you feel more prepared if the cancer does return. Learn more about coping with the fear of recurrence.

In general, following surgery or radiation therapy, the PSA level in the blood usually drops. If the PSA level starts to rise again, it may be a sign that the cancer has come back. If the cancer returns after the original treatment, it is called recurrent cancer.

When this occurs, a new cycle of testing will begin again to learn as much as possible about the recurrence, including where the recurrence is located. The cancer may come back in the prostate , in the tissues or lymph nodes near the prostate , or in another part of the body, such as the bones, lungs, or liver . Sometimes the doctor cannot find a tumor even though the PSA level has increased. This is known as a PSA-only or biochemical recurrence.

Read Also: Do Girls Have Prostates

Stages In Spread Of Cancer

Cancers are categorized based upon their tumor size and how long does it take cancer to spread during diagnosis. This is the time that your doctor decides the course of treatment along with providing general information. Below are the few stages of cancer.

• Unknown: Few information to determine the stage.
• Distant It has started moving along with affecting far located tissues and organs.
• Regional Cancer has started to spread to nearby organs, lymph nodes, and tissues.
• In situ This is referred to as the precancerous stage where it has not started its spreading to nearby body parts.

Also Check: How To Avoid Getting Prostate Cancer

Lower Risk Of Bladder Neck Contracture

When the prostate gland is removed , the urinary tract must be put back together by sewing the urethra to the bladder. As this junction heals, it tends to narrow, which can lead to significant problems urinating. This condition is called bladder neck contracture . According to the medical literature, as many as 1 in 5 men develop BNC following prostate surgery.

Froedtert & MCW urologic surgeons use a technique called intussuscepted vesico-urethral anastomosis for urinary tract reconstruction. Based on data from hundreds of surgeries at Froedtert & MCW locations, this technique appears to reduce significantly the risk of developing BNC. For well-selected patients, the risk is approximately 1 in 400. IVUA can be performed in an open prostatectomy, but at this time it cannot be performed robotically.

How Long Does A Radical Prostatectomy Take

The traditional procedure that removes cancer cells in the prostate gland is called a radical prostatectomy. Its a surgical approach that may take up to two hours to reach a successful ending. Usually, the procedure follows these steps:

In order to gain access to the prostate gland, the surgeon makes a small incision

The surgeon then proceeds to remove the gland altogether.

Once the prostate is eliminated, the surgeon needs to reattach the bladder to the urethra.

In order to allow the area to heal itself properly, the procedure also entails the attachment of a catheter to the bladder. Through this tube, the urine is going to be emptied into a collection bag.

Finally, the surgical incision is sutured.

Once the procedure ends, the anesthetist is going to stop supplying the anesthetic to the body. The patient is going to gradually wake up, and he is usually placed in a recovery room at this point. After the surgery, patients are required to remain in a hospital ward for a few hours or a few days, depending on the case.

Don’t Miss: Psa Levels In Metastatic Prostate Cancer Uk