Is Prostate Surgery Major Surgery

What Other Tests Do I Need

After prostatectomy, youll probably have a PSA test in about six weeks or so. Your doctor will recommend a follow-up schedule, usually every three months for two years. Depending on the results, you may need to test once or twice a year thereafter. Testing may be more frequent if it appears to be rising.

If your PSA levels are high and you have symptoms such as bone pain, imaging tests can be used to determine if cancer has spread. These may include bone scans and CT scans. If a mass is found, a biopsy can determine if its cancerous.

You might not need treatment right away. If youve had multiple PSA tests and it appears that your PSA level is rising, a number of other factors determine the next steps. These factors include:

• age and life expectancy
• if cancer has spread and where
• previous treatments

Radiation therapy after prostatectomy, also known as salvage radiotherapy, can be quite effective after a prostatectomy. External beam radiation can be delivered directly to the area around where the prostate was. The goal is to destroy prostate cells that may have been left behind after surgery. This lowers the risk of recurrence and metastasis, or of the cancer spreading.

Metastatic prostate cancer may not be curable, but there are treatments to slow progression and manage symptoms. Treatments may include:

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How Fast Will I Become Totally Continent After Prostate Surgery

During surgery for prostate cancer, the urethra is also affected and, depending on the experience of the surgeon, more or less of the continence function will be preserved. Due to the high precision of robotic surgery, the patient will have a catheter for roughly one week and the trauma to the urinary function will be minimum.

The discomfort that patients feel during this time is minimum, but you should expect the removal to make you feel uneasy. The catheter will be removed during a visit to your doctor, so do not try to do this at home, as it could cause infections. The degree of which the urinary function will be affected depends on how normal the function was before surgery, age and weight.

It is worth noting that most men will experience some degree of incontinence after prostate surgery, but control can be regained within several weeks or months to a year.

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 Is The Life Expectancy After The Removal Of The Prostate Gland

Prostate removal prolongs life with about three years in men with prostate cancer. However, prognosis depends on many factors. A doctor should know the patients medical history in detail and put this information together with survival statistics in order to offer an informed answer.

Option treatments have evolved over the years and life after prostate removal is now associated with less complications and a higher success rate.

How Will Prostate Surgery Affect My Sex Life

Experienced robotic surgeons like Dr. David Samadi dont open the endopelvic fascia during surgery, which spares the rick of damage to nerve bundles that control sexual function. The recovery of the function, however, is not immediate and you should not feel discouraged if weeks or even a few months after surgery you experience erectile dysfunction. It is not an indication of long-term damage.

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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:

Risks Of Prostate Surgery

The risks with any type of radical prostatectomy are much like those of any major surgery. Problems during or shortly after the operation can include:

• Reactions to anesthesia
• Blood clots in the legs or lungs
• Damage to nearby organs
• Infections at the surgery site.

Rarely, part of the intestine might be injured during surgery, which could lead to infections in the abdomen and might require more surgery to fix. Injuries to the intestines are more common with laparoscopic and robotic surgeries than with the open approach.

If lymph nodes are removed, a collection of lymph fluid can form and may need to be drained.

In extremely rare cases, a man can die because of complications of this operation. Your risk depends, in part, on your overall health, your age, and the skill of your surgical team.

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How Do I Prepare For My Turp

You are an important member of your own healthcare team. The steps you take before surgery can improve your comfort and outcome.

You can prepare for TURP by:

• Answering all questions about your medical history and medications. This includes prescriptions, over-the-counter drugs, herbal treatments, and vitamins. It is a good idea to carry a current list of your medical conditions, medications, and at all times.

• Getting preoperative testing as directed. Testing will vary depending on your age, health, and specific procedure. Preoperative testing may include a , EKG , blood tests, and other tests as needed.

• Losing excess weight before the surgery through a healthy diet and exercise plan

• Not eating or drinking before surgery as directed. Your surgery may be cancelled if you eat or drink too close to the start of surgery because you can choke on stomach contents during anesthesia.

• Stopping as soon as possible. Even quitting for just a few days can be beneficial and help the healing process.

• Taking or stopping medications exactly as directed. This may include not taking aspirin, ibuprofen , and blood thinners.

Questions to ask your doctor

Facing surgery can be stressful. It is common for patients to forget some of their questions during a doctors office visit. You may also think of other questions after your appointment. Contact your doctor with concerns and questions before surgery and between appointments.

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Are There Differences Between Orp Lrp And Ralrp

According to a 2010 of different surgery types for prostate cancer, the outcomes for open radical prostatectomy , laparoscopic , and robotic-assisted prostatectomy are not significantly different.

But people who choose LRP and RALRP may experience:

• less blood loss
• shorter hospital stay
• faster recovery time

Also, people who choose RALRP report faster recovery in continence and decreased hospital stay, in comparison to LRP. But the overall outcomes still depend on the surgeons experience and skill.

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Changes In Your Sex Life

Most men experience some decline in erectile function after their prostate is removed, but this can be managed. It can take six months or even up to a year for the affected nerves to recover from surgery. But with proper therapy and treatment, most patients can have good erectile function again, says Dr. Fam.

Treatment options include:

Work with your doctor to find a treatment that is right for you.

What Happens Before Radical Prostatectomy

Before radical prostatectomy, your provider will ask you about your health history. Youll also need to tell your provider what drugs and vitamins you take. You may need to stop taking some of your medications a few days before your surgery, especially drugs that cause blood thinning.

Your hospital will give you specific instructions, including how long before your surgery to stop eating and drinking.

To check your health before your procedure, you also may need:

• Prostate ultrasound and biopsy.

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What Is A Radical Prostatectomy

Surgery to remove the prostate to treat prostate cancer is called a radical prostatectomy. The aim of surgery is to remove all of the cancer cells.

It is usually done when the cancer is contained in the prostate and has not spread to the surrounding area.

A prostatectomy may sometimes be done to treat locally advanced prostate cancer. But usually, this operation is not possible. This is because the surgeon would not be able to remove all the cancer cells that have spread outside the prostate. Other types of surgery, such as transurethral resection of the prostate , can help with the symptoms of locally advanced prostate cancer.

A prostatectomy is a big operation and may not be suitable for everyone. Your doctor can tell you whether it is suitable or if a different treatment may be best for you.

See also

Transurethral Resection Of The Prostate

In most cases, doctors use this procedure to help people with something called benign prostatic hyperplasia , an enlargement of the prostate that isn’t cancer.

People with prostate cancer have TURP done to ease symptoms like trouble peeing. Doctors don’t use this surgery to try to cure the cancer.

A surgeon removes the inner portion of your prostate gland that surrounds something called the urethra. That’s the tube where the urine leaves your bladder. Then they’ll pass a tool called a resectoscope past the tip of your into the urethra. From there, they’ll either send electricity through a wire to heat the area up or use a laser to vaporize or cut tissue.

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What You Need To Know About Prostate Surgery

What is prostate surgery for?

The prostate is a gland located underneath the bladder, in front of the rectum. It plays an important role in the part of the male reproductive system that produces fluids that carry sperm.

Surgery for partial or complete removal of the prostate is called a prostatectomy. The most common causes for prostate surgery are prostate cancer and an enlarged prostate, or benign prostatic hyperplasia .

Pretreatment education is the first step to making a decisions about your treatment. All types of prostate surgery can be done with general anesthesia, which puts you to sleep, or spinal anesthesia, which numbs the lower half of your body.

Your doctor will recommend a type of anesthesia based on your situation.

The goal of your surgery is to:

• cure your condition
• maintain the ability to have erections
• minimize side effects
• minimize pain before, during, and after surgery

Read on to learn more about the types of surgery, risks, and recovery.

The goal of prostate surgery also depends on your condition. For example, the goal of prostate cancer surgery is to remove cancerous tissue. The goal of BPH surgery is to remove prostate tissue and restore the normal flow of urine.

Being Diagnosed With Prostate Cancer

One of the most devastating news for a man is a diagnosis of prostate cancer. On receiving such a diagnosis, many men follow the medical protocols by their doctor without doing their own independent research.

Most men scheduled to have their prostates removed are unaware that the surgery may have a little positive effect on their lifespan and a significant negative effect on both sexual ability and quality of life.

This is especially true for localized prostate cancer.

Every man for whom surgery is recommended should get opinions from several doctors or organizations that have no investment in the outcome.

An organization that provides expert professional advice to men with prostate cancer is the Prostate Cancer Research Institute .

They provide a free hotline for patients and caregivers to help them intelligently navigate the maze of options.

Surgical removal of the prostate is considered major surgery, and, as such, it has a significant risk of complications.

In addition, all prostate surgery carries with it the likelihood of severe long-term side effects. This is particularly true in the area of sexual performance and continence.

In many cases, especially with older men, the risks of surgery may be considerably greater than disease progression.

A 2012 study in the New England Journal of Medicine found that adverse events within thirty days after surgery occurred in 21.4 percent of men, including one death.

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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.

Is Surgery The Best Choice To Treat Your Prostate Cancer Here’s What You Need To Know

There are many ways to deal with a prostate cancer diagnosis. You might choose the wait-and-see approach of active surveillance for low-risk disease, in which you monitor your condition and only treat if the cancer becomes more aggressive. In terms of treatments, you can opt for radiation therapy, which attacks cancer cells, or androgen deprivation therapy, which tries to slow cancer growth by shutting down testosterone production.

The remaining option is radical prostatectomy: surgery to remove the entire prostate gland. While this is the most invasive approach, it’s the right choice for some men.

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• Research health conditions
• Prepare for a doctor’s visit or test
• Find the best treatments and procedures for you
• Explore options for better nutrition and exercise

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Urgent Signs And Symptoms

For emergencies that can’t wait, call 911.

• You have a persistent or recurring temperature greater than 101 F or repeated chills.
• Your catheter stops draining urine despite adequate hydration and no kinks in the tubing.
• Your urine in your Foley catheter is cloudy, foul smelling or persistently bloody .
• You have no bowel movement by day five after surgery.
• You have an unexplained severe pain that you didn’t experience while in the hospital.
• You are nauseated or vomiting.
• You have asymmetrical leg swelling .
• You have worsening redness, swelling or drainage from your incisions.

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.

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How Long Is The Surgery For A Prostatectomy

For more complex circumstances, an open surgery may be a more appropriate option than a robotic surgery. A prostatectomy takes about two hours. You will be under general anesthesia, so you?ll be completely asleep. During the surgery, your doctor will: Make a small incision to gain access to your prostate. Remove the prostate.

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.

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What Is The Recovery Time After Radical Prostatectomy

You may feel tired for a few weeks after surgery. Light exercise such as walking can help with the healing process. You should avoid heavy lifting for several weeks.

You may have urinary incontinence or leakage for weeks to months after the surgery, although most people recover continence after surgery. Recovery of sexual function is expected to take months. Your doctor may start you on a medication to help with recovery of erections.

Youll need regular follow-ups with your healthcare provider to monitor for evidence of cancer recurrence and manage effects from the surgery. They can work with you to improve any problems with erectile dysfunction or bladder control.

Who Should Choose Active Surveillance For Prostate Cancer

When detected early, prostate cancer is considered one of the most treatable forms of disease. Additionally, some forms of prostate cancer are relatively slow-growing and are not likely to impact a mans life expectancy in certain cases. For men with low-stage, low-grade disease, men who have a remaining life expectancy of less than ten years, and/or men who have significant health problems or are not candidates for surgery, active surveillance may be recommended as a prostate cancer management tool. With active surveillance, patients typically have regular PSAs and digital rectal exams to monitor the potential progression of their disease and determine if and when intervention may be warranted.

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