Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) Surgery Options

I don’t know nothing about “green laser” prostate surgery. I had the HOLEP Procedure (Holmium Laser Enucleation of Prostate) in May of this year and thus far I’ve been very happy with the results. I’m a proponent of second and third opinions when it come to surgery options….perhaps if things don’t change for you, a second opinion might be helpful. I went to the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FL for my procedure…..maybe you think about reaching out to them?

How long was the recovery period?

The HOLEP procedure was performed at around 2:00 PM, the Foley Catheter was present when I woke up, at 9:30 AM the next morning, the catheter was removed. I was able to urinate easily from then on. I did have some bloody bits present in the urine for about 8-10 days, but that was the extent of it. I was fully recovered, no blood, no issues at all after 3 weeks. I count my blessings for it too!

Update on my Green Light Laser Prostatectomy, Had the procedure on Dec 1. Urologist said all went well. I left hospital with Foley Catheter. After two weeks, Urologist removed Foley and sent me home. I did ok for a few hours, but went back to Hospital for blockage...could not urinate. I returned on Dec 28, had catheter removed and sent home. I was able to pass urine during the day, and during the night I made at least 8 trips to the bathroom to urinate. Flow seemed satisfactory. Was a little concerned about the numerous trips to bathroom at night, but I'm guessing that my body was adjusting to the Non Catheter situation. I had blocking problems last summer and had the Foley since summer, with trips back n forth to Urology, finally having the Green Light procedure. Things seem to be better, I am catheter free as of today....but make alot of trips to bathroom..hoping this slows down a bit..but sure is a relief to be able to urinate.

Has anyone here hear of EP procedure in connection with laser enucleation such as HOLEP or green light?
EP stands for Ejaculation Preservation. Some of the prostate is untouched, enough for it to make semenal fluid in order to ejaculate out of the penis as opposed to retrograde ejaculation, where the sperm goes into the bladder and not out. I intend to ask about this when I have my appointment mid January. I have a 99cc prostate which is protruding into my bladder wall. I would hate to have the whole thing gutted out when it doesn't have to be. I think it's worth a mention in my opinion.

Hello delmar418! My prostate was protruding into my bladder. For this reason….I chose HOLEP. I’m extremely happy with the results, although I no longer ejaculate as before. Everything else is great. The sensation of ejaculation is present during sex, but without ejaculation. Given the alternative….I’m very happy with the result. I had a 77cc prostate before HOLEP, 75% of it was removed. HOLEP was performed by Dr. Dora at the Mayo in Jacksonville!

Urology explained to me after the Green Light, I would experience the "feeling" of ejaculate, but no fluid would possibly be released. I have not been in recovery enough to test this out . Will post some comments in a few weeks , hopefully it can be helpful.

I had HoLEP surgery in September 2020 by Dr. Amy Krambeck at Northwestern Hospital in Chicago. She has done thousands of them and did some of her training at Mayo and did a fellowship at Indiana University, I believe. I thought she and her team did a great job, and everything was covered by my work related insurance at the time. Now on Medicare with supplemental, but I think still all covered if medical necessity--I could not urinate at all at that point. My prostrate was about 125 ccs, so very big. I think they took about half out. Solved all my problems with little or no problems after the procedure. I do have retrograde ejaculation, but that does not seem to diminish the enjoyment for either myself or my wife (or so she says). Has some advantages also. Not to get too graphic, but I probably miss the extra feeling of the semen coming out of my penis, but still feel the overall pulsing pleasure of the orgasm. And pre-ejaculate still flows and provides lubrication.
By the way, obviously this is not a procedure for someone still planning on having children. I wrote here about what caused my problem at the time, but if you are having urination problems, be very careful about your urine backing up into your kidneys and causing severe damage. That is what happened to me. As a result I am Stage 3 CKD. My urologist at the time did not do bladder scans at my regular office visits to monitor for this danger, which I blame for my problem.

Age is one of the many factors that impact prostate health. Prostate disorders, such as enlarged prostate, inflammatory prostate, and prostate cancer, are greater frequent in older men.

Hello! @kayak461

I read your post and it's wonderful news! It must feel awesome to pee again without all the extras. I can't imagine it. I can feel your excitement. I happened across another aspect of the procedure, I thought I would ask if anyone knows about it, has had it, or not.
I am writing from Europe, we don't have the Mayo here, nor are there forums like this. Thanks for your update, it's very encouraging. Continue to keep us updated, please. Gotta stick together.