I'm sure others will chime in, and I really don't know the full answer to your questions. I just had my procedure done less than 2 weeks ago. If you read my posts, you'll know that my procedure didn't go exactly as planned because of a malfunction of the Tulsa probe. Luck of the draw I guess. They did have a backup probe and it worked fine, so they were able to complete the procedure. One thing that doesn't get discussed much is the recovery after the procedure. The catheter isn't a lot of fun, more of a nuisance than anything and a little painful especially at the tip. Consider purchasing a pair of pants made for holding a catheter bag, and wearing them for the day of your procedure. I wore jeans and that was a big mistake. You'll wear the pants if you go out of the house. While I was inside, I just wore a pair of PJ bottoms. I cut a slit in the side of the leg a little above the knee. The bag had a hook on it for hanging, so I hung it on the outside of the PJs at the bottom of the slit. This worked great, but I live alone and no one else had to see it. One good thing is, I got to sleep through the night with the catheter since I didn't have to get up to pee, I'm normally up at least 2 times and often more. One week after the procedure to the day, I drove myself 2 hours to see the Urologist's nurse who pulled out the catheter. Prior to that though, they do a little test. She said, "we're going to fill your bladder, then make sure you can pee it out". I'm thinking, ok, I have to drink a bunch of water, Nope. She takes these BIG syringes, fills them with water, disconnects the bag from the catheter while leaving the rest of the catheter in place. Then she squirts the water through the catheter directly into your bladder. Not bad at all, until it's really full, which is the goal. I think she must have put 20 gallons into me (slight exaggeration ;-).
Then she asks if I'm ready to remove the catheter, I say yep. On 3, 1,2,THREE! It's out in a flash, and it hurts, but the pain subsides back close to zero in a couple seconds. Then she says for me to pee in a container while she leaves. I did, and it was NOT easy. Only got a little out, but she must have taken some out too, because she said it was perfect. Then she did an ultra sound of my bladder to see how much liquid was left, there was none, I passed. The next 4 days were the worst. I didn't have any incontinence but urinating was next to impossible. It hurt like hell and literally just a very small trickle at first turning to drips after. It took an eternity to empty my bladder (ok 3 to 5 mins, but it felt like forever). You'll be prescribed AZO for bladder and urinary tract pain, take it. Turns your pee yellow. Take your Flomax (Tamsulosin). In my case, my flow started with pain and a spurt of blood and sometimes tissue fragments. Sometimes I thought I wasn't going to be able to void, but I did and I still am. The first 3 days after removal were rough, but it's been better since. It has not been linear improvement, there have been minor setbacks. I really don't know what's going on in there but I suspect that what's left of my prostate is swollen and impinging on my urethra, add to that the small pieces of ablated tissue that found it's way out of my prostate into my urethra AND the blood that is probably trying clot and you end up with almost (but not entirely) a complete blockage. The body is trying to sort it all out. Today is day 12 post procedure and day 5 post catheter removal. Pain while urinating has dropped from an 8 to a 2 to 3. Flow has increased from a dribble to a stream that is about 1/4 of what I had before the procedure, AND I'm happy about it because it's improved a lot and I could live with it the way it is, but still hopeful that it will continue to improve.
Now, to answer your question. My next appointment with the Urologist is in 3 months for a follow up. I don't know what's in store for me. I had two Doctors, the one who did the procedure and the Urologist who does the follow up. The procedure doctor said that there will regular PSA level tests, MRI'S AND biopsies. Not looking forward to the latter 🙁
I'm glad you're finding these posts helpful. I'm posting these details because I could find specifics online. Would I do it again? I hope I won't have to, but for me, the alternatives are scary. If you have any questions, post here and I'll try to answer. Best of luck 🙂