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← Return to Prostate cancer surgery: What can I expect & prepare for?
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Prostate cancer surgery: What can I expect & prepare for?
Prostate Cancer | Last Active: Feb 27, 2023 | Replies (36)Comment receiving replies
I am 56 years old and had a radical prostatectomy and lymphadenectomy on November 3, 2022. The surgery went very well and I spent one night in the hospital. The Mayo clinic staff were incredible, with my only complaint being Pathology timeliness (still waiting on final pathology report). I had four incisions from the robotic surgery and one 2" incision for prostate removal. For me, the catheter was the most uncomfortable part of the recovery. My wife used a rotation of Ibuprofen ( three 200 mg) and Acetaminophen (two 500 mg) to control my pain, versus the Oxycodone. I was told the Oxycodone can cause constipation - Definitely would not want this while having the catheter inserted.
After getting the catheter removed, I have had stress incontinence (laughing, coughing, etc.) and periodic leakage. I try to wait until I feel like I need to empty my bladder (max 2 hours) before peeing, but there is increased leakage as time goes along. I find wearing an adult diaper is the most convenient method for dealing with the leakage. At night, I agree with an earlier post, the 3'x3' pads are awesome - They give me peace of mind and twice prevented a mess. Doctor has me doing two sets of Kegels (10 fast reps, 10 slow on/hold 3 seconds/slow off) three times a day. I have been doing these consistently, but don't feel any improvement at this point. Curious, given that I am 19 days post surgery, does anyone know if this is slow progress or somewhat average?
For those that have received their pathology report, does anyone have a situation where they had chemical reoccurrence of PC, even though they had a negative margin within the prostate? Based on biopsy, I have a Gleason score of 4/3. Based on research I have done, thinking reoccurrence post radical prostatectomy is very low when Gleason score is 6 (3/3) or less.
It has been great to read all the comments. Thanks so much and praying that all goes well for everyone.
Replies to "I am 56 years old and had a radical prostatectomy and lymphadenectomy on November 3, 2022...."
Which Mayo Clinic did you go to, and how did you choose your surgeon? I was diagnosed Gleason 6 in September 2022 and am not sure my Urologist has enough experience.
I am also 56 years old and was diagnosed in the first week of September with an initial PSA of 32. I was never encouraged to get tested, but decided to after a period of time with decreased urine flow. My Gleason's were 9's & 10's, so the Dr. very much expected metastatis (even if he didn't so much as say it out loud). Fortunately, everything was localized. After surgery, it was revealed that roughly 80% of my gland had been transformed to a yellowish tumorous material and that the cancer was tying to migrate. I had robotic prostatectomy on Nov. 9 and I am approaching my 4-week point. Most likely due to the nature of deterioration of the gland and the need to remove all the marginal activity (10 years ago I would've been stage 4). my recovery has been pretty rough. I still can't sit up. I leak when I get off the couch or out of bed. I've also had incredible pain in the unit (just typing it in makes the scro recoil). Dr. has been a wizard and has finally gotten some of the spasms to subside (or at lease decrease in pain intensity (valium and myrbetriq - I refused to take the NORCO - see other comments here about constipation). I take multiple sitz baths every day to alleviate some of the perineal pressure (still jumps to a 8-9 on the pain scale every evening). Needless to say, my experience has been rough. My path report started off with the caveat, "this is a difficult case." I will be meeting up with my wizard (doctor) in the next few weeks to schedule initial radiation. Get used to being wet with a tough case, but follow the rehab recommendations from the Dr. Do the Kegels and be sure to do them correctly. I got frustrated and went whole hog and probably cost my self more pain than gain. After watching a tutorial from an English woman on youtube, I've learned to start slow and work on making progress. Be diligent and be strong and don't hesitate to let it out when it becomes unbearable. If you can do the sttoic approach like my father-in-law did, then more power to you. that was therapeutic. thanks.
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only having stress incontinance at 20 days post surgery sounds pretty good to me. That's what? a week post cath removal? I was right about there at that point, maybe a hair better at most since I didn't use the pads except as an "just in case" item. It was a month before I was told it was okay to work out again so, if memory serves. I was very close to were you are. Is that normal? my team insinuated it was a little better than normal.
Do Those Kegels!