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Considering an Artificial Urinary Sphincter (AUS): Need advice
I had a prostatectomy in 2013, followed by radiation in 2013 and more radiation in 2024. My leaking has continued to worsen. My new urologist recommended that I consider an artificial urinary sphincter. He says he’s performed “a lot” of them. By chance, he was a resident 3 years ago, assisting one of my previous urologists. He completed a fellowship last year and is now back at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He’s taken over my care from my previous urologist who retired last year.
My questions: I know would want a surgeon who has done a lot of them successfully. How should I investigate? If my doctor says he has done a lot, should I believe him? What is a lot? If he says he’s had a good success rate, should I believe him? What is a good success rate? I doubt he’s going to give me his client list. All I know to do is to ask around, see if anyone has had AUS, find out who they went to, and ask what their experience was. I can do that here in this forum, but does that mean I’d need to travel to another city? Thanks.
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Fairly quick meeting with the surgeon yesterday.
I showed him my bladder diary from last week & he was a bit horrified.
But it gave him all the answers he needed.
"How many pad do you use per day?"
"All of those entries are a pad change".
"Oh".
So if you're considering an artificial urinary sphincter, I totally recommend that you walk in there with a completed recent bladder diary. It's much easier to have numbers to quantify your leakage, rather than sit there & guess.
Here's mine.
That was enough to put me on 3 waiting lists.
One to join the public waiting list, one to join the private waiting list & another one to put me on standby so I can be rushed in at one day's notice, if someone else cancels their surgery.
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7 ReactionsPeter, I hope you get your procedure soon. Are these lists all different drs? Do you have confidence in all of them?
If it’s just one, that’s a weird triage system for sure!
It's actually one urologist.
I'm on 3 waiting lists.
The normal waiting list in a public hospital
A standby list (like an airport) where I can jump in at a moment's notice if another surgery is cancelled
An application for a private hospital
We have a good public health system down here.
Public hospitals are free (paid for with our taxes)
That's the first option.
Private hospitals do exist (generally paid for with private health insurance)
But we have a Government (i.e. taxpayer-funded) system called Accident Compensation.
It means that if approved, you can bypass the public hospital waiting lists & go to a private hospital instead - for free.
That's what I'm hoping for.
Fun fact: Accident Compensation offers free medical care to anyone - including tourists.
So if you break your leg skiing... free hospital.
I had successful prostate cancer surgery in 2002 at age 53. I am now 77 years old and for the past year or so I am now experiencing stress incontinence which is getting worse. I’m considering an AUS. I am interested in hearing comments from those who have had this device implanted.
Go to search in this section. Many good and bad stories about the AMS800
I had surgery in 2010 and radiation in 2014. Six years later, I started having incontinence problems and they’ve gotten progressively worse. I’m going to have an AUS installed in June. I’ve been to a couple of seminars where they have talked about the devices that are available. The AUS seems to be the answer for me because I’ve had radiation to the prostate bed.
If you’ve not had radiation to the prostate bed and do not expect to have it, then you can also consider the ProACT Device. It has a real advantage in that you don’t have to press the bulb in order to pee. It is implanted in your body, just like an AUS, but they can adjust the pressure it puts on your urethra to reduce your leaking to Almost nothing.. Do not expect the AUS to completely reduce your incontinence, but it will make a major difference, At the most, you’ll need a thin pad.
Here are some firsthand experience from somebody in this forum.
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/comment/1397682/
This is part of a discussion quite similar to what you are asking.
@budisnothome Thanks so much for the link. I will check this out. Appreciate your input.
@jeffmarc Thanks so much for the link. I will check this out. Appreciate your input.
@script72
When you hit reply, it will Show the @ Name of the person you are replying to. Just start writing your message below that. That way, the person you are replying to gets notified that you are making a reply. No need to hit reply and then start a new message.
@jeffmarc
Thanks, got it. Is this coming through the correct way now? Does this mean only you will see my comment and it will not be posted to entire support group as a new post?