Aquablation: Post-surgery expectations

@plynhky. Surgeon was Dr Hadley, surgery was at Soin Medical Center. Dayton Ohio

@icorus1959 so where did you get your care? And who was the surgeon?

Just collecting some names for future reference.

Doctor Ed Mayer at Middlesex hospital in Middletown, Connecticut. He operates 2 days per month...and 5 aquablations per day. Middlesex is the only aquablations hospital in Connecticut.

Hello I was scheduled for the Aquablation last year but in surgery they did something like a turp. Since then when I masturbate I don’t see any semen which I miss. During intercourse though I see see a little bit on my penis.

I had the Aquablation procedure 2 days ago. So far recovery is going as planned. What has been the experience of the first few urinations after catheter removal? My prostate was 138cc and the catheter will be in 5-6 days. The only issues at this point are occasional intense burning that lasts a few seconds and irritation at the catheter site where is enters. I assume these two symptoms are normal.

@wadaman01 Yes, those symptoms are normal. It has been four months since I had the procedure and I am very satisfied. My comfort and control of urination has greatly improved. But it did take several weeks for me to get to this state. After my catheter was removed I experienced slight burning feeling when urinating for a few days, but that cleared up. Something to be cautious of: after I had the catheter removed my urine was almost clear. Then after a few days I started to see blood when I peed. It got darker and darker and lasted for about three weeks. That caused me some concern, but it is part of the healing process. I do advise not to be too active for the first three weeks after the procedure.

@kocour thanks for responding. Slight burning sounds very tolerable. I had very significant burning after the cystoscopy. I would prefer to avoid that if I can.

I had an aquablation done on December 4, 2025, and so far, things seem to be going well. To be entirely honest, I don't think my doctor did a very good job of preparing me for the aftermath. I've had to look online for the answers to most of my questions. For example, I play trombone in a couple of bands and was wondering about how soon I might get back to it. My urologist said I might want to wait a few days, mainly suggesting that the urge to urinate might hit me while onstage. But nothing about the potential dangers to the pelvic floor, etc., that I've been reading about. I am planning to try an hour-long Christmas concert tomorrow--will be a challenge because I'm currently able to go about 30-40 minutes between bathroom trips. Another thing I was a bit surprised about was returning to bicycling. I do a lot of Zwift riding, especially now that it's winter, and though I could just hop back on. But it looks like I should wait at least a month, if not longer. No one mentioned anything about sexual function, but it looks like I should be waiting at least a month, maybe six weeks before giving that a try?

One of the PAs who dealt with me in the hospital actually told me she usually suggests patients take two weeks off from work. Again, nothing like this came up prior to the operation. I'm a college librarian and largely sit at a desk/computer, but a week before the procedure, I was moving books around so that we could remove shelves and make the space more accessible, so there are times when it's a pretty physical job.

I was in the hospital overnight on December 4 and the original plan was to release me on the 5th, but there was enough bleeding that they kept me a second night and sent me home on Saturday the 6th. I have been urinating much more freely than before, though still see the occasional blood. I seem to have urine that ranges from light watermelon to orange in color. I can sleep for 4-5 hours at night, rather than getting up every 90 minutes or so, which was my experience before. I'd been having bladder stones develop every year and a half or so, so am hoping that this procedure will help prevent that.

I'm in Minnesota and the procedure was done at North Memorial hospital in Robbinsdale. My doctor was Dean Tortorellis from Minnesota Urology. Have a follow-up appointment scheduled for December 19.

Hi Everyone. I read as much of previous posts as possible to get familiar with the flow of discussions. I'd like to contribute here my experiences post-aquablation in Sep 2021 and a running chronicle of an issue possibly related to the procedure for which I have an appointment on Dec 30, 2025.

First, like a number of members here, two episodes of complete urination blockage drove me to my urologist, a late-30s/early-40s MD who was magna cum laude and honors in his pre-med & med proper batches. In other words, smart if a bit too serious about his craft w/c I suppose is better than not.

The procedure went well in line with what most of you experienced: 30-minute procedure under general anesthesia, one-night hospital stay with ongoing irrigation, and catheter removal 3 days after hospital discharge. Urologist stopped my tamsulosin after confirming full voiding on 3rd day. I'd read an article associating tamsulosin with dementia and so was glad to get off it after 2 years.

A few days after catheter removal, on the urinal I suddenly couldn't urinate and felt the familiar angst of complete blockage. I moved to a stall and sat down to more forcefully urinate (and to avoid overstaying on the urinal in case a co-worker walked in). Well, a big blood clot shot out and a nice torrent followed.

After that minor post-procedure incident, the procedure has met expectations. Urine flow about 90% of, say, what it was when I was in my early 50s; I'm now 71. No more low fever from bladder urine backing up and infecting my kidneys. Night trips to the toilet reduced from 3 or 4 to one (after 6 hours of sleep). Ejaculation still OK if not as strong 30 years ago. A few times I've regarded my procedure as a new lease on life. Grateful!

Last year, approximately 3 years from the procedure, my urine became cloudy-brown then full-on red with blood which lasted 2 days. It cleared eventually but still saw my urologist. He ordered an MRI to see if there was anything he missed during the biopsy w/c he performed about a month before the procedure. For some reason, the clinic didn't confirm a date for the MRI and since the hematuria (blood in urine) didn't recur, I didn't press.

This year, I've had hematuria again 2 more times, each one lasting a day then clearing. I have an appointment on Dec 30 for a diagnosis. I'm hoping it's nothing serious; some research indicates the possibility of bleeding a few years after aquablation resulting from severed arteries opening up or a UTI. Cancer doesn't appear to be a cause but I think I'm prepared for it if that's the case.

I will provide updates as my current issue progresses. Meantime, I'm glad to be answering any questions about my long-term experience with the procedure.

Cheers, Benny

@bookman65 Just want to mention I'm a road biker. I'm 14 months away from the procedure. Still peeing normally and no sexual dysfunction. I went on a 6 mile ride in September. I woke up the next morning with blood in my urine. First time since I healed from the procedure. I bought a more comfortable ergonomic saddle and thicker padded tights...haven't had a recurrence since. I didn't get back on my bike until 7 months after the procedure. Bike riding pounds into the prostate.