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Can you select your Mayo surgeon?
Prostate Cancer | Last Active: Dec 3, 2023 | Replies (32)Comment receiving replies
Follow-up questions: We live about 5 hours from Rochester by car. Concerned that if there is a complication after surgery, we will be far from Mayo. Did any of you have surgery at Mayo but received follow-up care with your local urologist? How did that work? Did the local urologist show any signs of displeasure that you did not have him/her perform your surgery? Who did your catheter removal and routine PSA tests? Thanks very much.
Replies to "Follow-up questions: We live about 5 hours from Rochester by car. Concerned that if there is..."
My surgery was 5 hrs away also. I chose to stay an extra 3 days in a hotel across the street from the hospital for your very reason . No complications but had peace of mind that help was close.
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larrycurlymo,
Your surgical team will provide you with detailed instructions for post RP care. My surgeon recommended having the catheter removed at Mayo because it also serves as a sort of check up on how you are doing post-surgery. It just takes a second or two to remove, but they have you drink a few bottles of water and make sure you are able to urinate a few times before they let you leave. I'd recommend staying the night in Rochester just to ensure there are no complications. As for the follow up PSA's they provide you with several options, but none involved going to the Mayo for the test. The preferred option is to have your local GP do it and if that's not an option, they can also mail you a kit to have a sample sent to Mayo.
I recommend having a consult with a couple different surgeons to help with your choice. I was able to get a couple of recommendations and then had Mayo set up consults to help me choose. It was well worth the time.
Good luck with your surgery!