Go with local prostectomy surgeon or pursue big center 2.5 hours away

Stupid questions from a healthcare nube.
• How do I connect with the Northwestern team and get that started ?

> I'd want to also make sure their services fall into my insurance plan.

I so deeply appreciate all the super solid advice. I've been doing my homework in a big way and this forum is such a huge help. Appreciate you all!

I had mine done by a local surgeon in the Milwaukee area. I selected him after talking with another surgeon(whom was terrible) and a center of excellence in Illinois(that refused to give me any financial details). My surgeon is named one of the top urologist surgeons in Wisconsin. He has done over 1,000 procedures. The care and detail given before the surgery was second to none. After surgery I had no problems with the catheter and ZERO incontinence issues, even to this day 2 1/2 years since my surgery. My pathology report came back with a higher risk G score compared to my biopsy(done by a different urologist), but my PSA is still < 0.01. Still praying everyday. If you would like his name drop me a line. Best wishes🤞🙏

Go immediately to a center of excellence. You may not need to be carved up and suffer the related side effects. I would ask for an evaluation to see if your are a candidate for the Tulsa procedure (radiowave ablation from within the urethra). Some here will comment on their experience with the procedure. Some of us have varying levels of buyers remorse because remember surgeons sell surgeries, radiologists sell radiation, and med oncologists sell pills . Do your own homework. A wealth of information exists on this platform .

No question...no second thought...travel the 2.5 hours to the biggest and best medical center you can find. Your local urologist having done only "100" prostatectomies is still considered "rookie status", compared to other urologists who have done 4,000, 5,000, and more. I fortunately live in location of Orange County, CA where there are many urologists and many very good hospitals. My urologist had done 4,100 DaVinci Robotic-assisted Radical Prostatectomies. I figured he was a great choice. Everyone's prostate has its own characteristics, to include the near-vascular bundles that need to be preserved for urinary and sexual function. You want the urologist with the most experience doing that IMHO. Good luck.

I think you're asking a good question. I'm not a medical professional nor an expert on this stuff, so take my comment with a grain of salt as I certainly don't know what's best for you. That said, I also had a 3+4=7 that appeared to be contained in the prostate. I was 70 when I had NS RARP in June 2024 at Mayo Phoenix, which was about a 5 hour drive from where I live. I made the drive because it's my personal opinion that it's a very difficult surgery and it just seemed logical to make the effort to find the best surgeon I could find to minimize the likelihood of a bad outcome. The surgeon I was assigned at Mayo turned out to be a long time surgeon (something like 20 years) at Mayo, he had a long list of published articles, and he had great reviews. During the consult I asked if he'd be doing the surgery, or some resident. He told me he'd be teaching during the surgery, but he'd be operating the robot and doing the surgery. I figured he must be pretty good if he's teaching at Mayo. I did ask him what he believed my odds, with him as surgeon, were for incontinence and ED. He told me at 1 year I had a 90% chance of being continent an 70% of not having ED. After surgery I was never incontinent (other than the normal accidents while figuring out the new normal) and at 15 months my ED is gone and I'm fully back to normal. I'm pretty sure a big part of my success was getting a great surgeon (and a good penal rehab program after surgery). So I think (generally speaking) that if someone has the option, then getting a very experienced and successful surgeon is worth the effort, but that's just my opinion. Although you didn't ask, I feel compelled to add that a CCOE like Northwestern would also be a great place to get a 2nd opinion on your specific case and all your treatment options. Expertise really matters when treating prostate cancer, and while I don't know for sure I've read that at Northwestern you'd have access to a multi-disciplinary team review of your case. If it's an option for you, it's possible a 2nd opinion could be done very quickly. Best wishes.