The incisions were typically sore but nothing major. I had four, roughly 4cm incisions, across the beltline and the larger one above the navel. The pain was central to the abdomen area and it was sore for 4 or 5 days. The real hurdle was how tired I was for the first week. I've been through 6 joint surgeries,3 knees, 2 shoulders 1 hip, and this one made me relax for that first week. As they say, keep up with the pain killers for the first few days then ween yourself off. Also, force yourself to walk as instructed as that helps with recovery.

I'm 70 and had NS RALP about 9 weeks ago and had 5 small incisions and 1 large one (maybe 2") above my naval. For me the recovery from the 6 incisions never got above a 2 on a scale of 10. But I religiously followed my care team instructions. I never used the oxy (which was use if needed), but I took my OTC tylenol and ibuprofen exactly per their instructions. I don't recall exactly, but they had me alternating those for about 4 or 5 days or so post surgery, gradually coming off them. I also strictly followed their instructions to not lift anything more than 10 lbs for 6 weeks. After the 6 week period, I started back at the gym slowly, which was actually tough as I had been feeling really good (pretty much normal) by the 3rd week or so after the catheter came out. During this recovery period, there were a handful of times I did feel a sharp pain in the general area of the large incision area, but only briefly if I did something physically that aggrevated it. Overall, the challenge for me was not to rush things as I generally felt so good so quickly after the catheter came out. But, I was healthy before the surgery and I had an excellent surgeon and care team at Mayo Phoenix. Of course, since I'm not a medical professional nor do I have any expertise in this area, I have no idea what's "normal" for post surgical recovery for NS RALP for a 70 year old. Best wishes on your recovery.

I felt very sore for the first few days and only needed Tylenol to manage the pain. My belly had a bunch of trapped nitrogen from the surgery and things improved greatly as the gas passed.

If you are currently in decent health with few or no co-morbidities you’ll do fine.

I locally counsel newly diagnosed men seeking surgery as a peer-patient advocate. Send me a direct message with any questions about what to expect.

Bob