Hello @patrick78. I had HOLEP about 3 1/2 years ago at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville. I’m glad to hear that you will be having the same operation in a week or so. To answer your question about side effects following the procedure…..there were not many for me. I woke up from the procedure with the Foley catherter in place, they removed the Foley the following morning. I felt good and glad that it was over. For a few days…..when I urinated , small pieces of material would come out with the urine. This is normal and can last several days before it stops. I could urinate easily and it felt like I was 20 years old again. I didn’t have any other side effects! As for sexual activity, I believe the instruction was to wait 6 weeks if I remember correctly. When sexual activity resumed, it felt different but still felt great. The ejaculation was retrograde, but felt wonderful and I was so happy that I was able to achieve orgasm. I’m 73 now, and sex with my wife is wonderful. It is different, but I count my blessings because I feel like I made the right decision to proceed with HOLEP. I hope this helps you friend! You’re going to be alright!
I had HOLEP December of 2024. It has not gone well. I still have incontinence and am currently on antibiotics for the 8th time since surgery. The urologist took 50% of my prostate. It has been a miserable year. An infectious disease doctor told me the UTI’s are from scar tissue from the surgery. O write this as I am waiting to submit urine for another culture diagnosis.
Had HOLEP 4 years ago. Prostate was quite large at 200. Many problems before HOLEP, but could not be happier after, quality of life greatly improved. Was on Flo-max for many years before HOLEP, so had retrograde before and after HOLEP. Best of luck.
I had HoLEP April, 2021. I was 65. It was an amazing result to my urological journey that lasted about 12 years. My first urologist wanted to do TERP. I was hesitant because of the higher chance of loss of sexual function. Then my employer changed insurance companies and the new urologist did a Urolift, it was a waste of time as my prostate grew rapidly. Then the same surgeon did Laser Green Light surgery, which worked great for about a month then things reverted, the frequencies and urgencies came back. I had to wear Depends. Then that surgeon referred me to another to do a robotic surgery and that surgeon said I'd be best served with HoLEP and sent me to another surgeon. She was great and had done the procedures hundreds of times. I always research their history. They did keep me overnight as my procedure was late afternoon, went home the next morning without a catheter and life has been great since. I was peeing like I was 19, feeling like I could put out a fire. The pressure does go down after time but no more dribbles, urgencies, frequencies or Depends. Sex, I'd say sex definitely improved. No more hurry up to the rest room. Ejaculation is retrograde, but otherwise, sex has been wonderful. I think we had sex sooner than I was supposed to, at around two weeks. We took it slow, no problems. There were some chunks and blood clots for a while after, nothing painful or scary. Because I have a very fast growing prostate I asked the surgeon if It would grow enough to cause problems again. She said maybe if I live to be 120. We're lucky we live in a time of rapidly evolving technology. I wish you well with your procedure.
Wish I could say the same. My Holep was done in March of 2025 and has been a disaster ever since. None stop leakage ever since. I am now told from these same doctors that I need an artificial urinary sphincter to fix this problem. The same ones that said Holep would be no problem because I am young and healthy. Just remember that whatever you do there is the chance that you cant go back. Everybody has different outcomes.
I had HoLEP April, 2021. I was 65. It was an amazing result to my urological journey that lasted about 12 years. My first urologist wanted to do TERP. I was hesitant because of the higher chance of loss of sexual function. Then my employer changed insurance companies and the new urologist did a Urolift, it was a waste of time as my prostate grew rapidly. Then the same surgeon did Laser Green Light surgery, which worked great for about a month then things reverted, the frequencies and urgencies came back. I had to wear Depends. Then that surgeon referred me to another to do a robotic surgery and that surgeon said I'd be best served with HoLEP and sent me to another surgeon. She was great and had done the procedures hundreds of times. I always research their history. They did keep me overnight as my procedure was late afternoon, went home the next morning without a catheter and life has been great since. I was peeing like I was 19, feeling like I could put out a fire. The pressure does go down after time but no more dribbles, urgencies, frequencies or Depends. Sex, I'd say sex definitely improved. No more hurry up to the rest room. Ejaculation is retrograde, but otherwise, sex has been wonderful. I think we had sex sooner than I was supposed to, at around two weeks. We took it slow, no problems. There were some chunks and blood clots for a while after, nothing painful or scary. Because I have a very fast growing prostate I asked the surgeon if It would grow enough to cause problems again. She said maybe if I live to be 120. We're lucky we live in a time of rapidly evolving technology. I wish you well with your procedure.
I had HoLEP April, 2021. I was 65. It was an amazing result to my urological journey that lasted about 12 years. My first urologist wanted to do TERP. I was hesitant because of the higher chance of loss of sexual function. Then my employer changed insurance companies and the new urologist did a Urolift, it was a waste of time as my prostate grew rapidly. Then the same surgeon did Laser Green Light surgery, which worked great for about a month then things reverted, the frequencies and urgencies came back. I had to wear Depends. Then that surgeon referred me to another to do a robotic surgery and that surgeon said I'd be best served with HoLEP and sent me to another surgeon. She was great and had done the procedures hundreds of times. I always research their history. They did keep me overnight as my procedure was late afternoon, went home the next morning without a catheter and life has been great since. I was peeing like I was 19, feeling like I could put out a fire. The pressure does go down after time but no more dribbles, urgencies, frequencies or Depends. Sex, I'd say sex definitely improved. No more hurry up to the rest room. Ejaculation is retrograde, but otherwise, sex has been wonderful. I think we had sex sooner than I was supposed to, at around two weeks. We took it slow, no problems. There were some chunks and blood clots for a while after, nothing painful or scary. Because I have a very fast growing prostate I asked the surgeon if It would grow enough to cause problems again. She said maybe if I live to be 120. We're lucky we live in a time of rapidly evolving technology. I wish you well with your procedure.
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I had HoLEP January 2025 Mayo Clinic in Arizona
My prostate was 201, I had been on a Foley catheter for 13 months.
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1 ReactionWhat is 201 is that measurement of size?
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/holep-log/
Hello @patrick78. I had HOLEP about 3 1/2 years ago at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville. I’m glad to hear that you will be having the same operation in a week or so. To answer your question about side effects following the procedure…..there were not many for me. I woke up from the procedure with the Foley catherter in place, they removed the Foley the following morning. I felt good and glad that it was over. For a few days…..when I urinated , small pieces of material would come out with the urine. This is normal and can last several days before it stops. I could urinate easily and it felt like I was 20 years old again. I didn’t have any other side effects! As for sexual activity, I believe the instruction was to wait 6 weeks if I remember correctly. When sexual activity resumed, it felt different but still felt great. The ejaculation was retrograde, but felt wonderful and I was so happy that I was able to achieve orgasm. I’m 73 now, and sex with my wife is wonderful. It is different, but I count my blessings because I feel like I made the right decision to proceed with HOLEP. I hope this helps you friend! You’re going to be alright!
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Hug
1 ReactionI had HOLEP December of 2024. It has not gone well. I still have incontinence and am currently on antibiotics for the 8th time since surgery. The urologist took 50% of my prostate. It has been a miserable year. An infectious disease doctor told me the UTI’s are from scar tissue from the surgery. O write this as I am waiting to submit urine for another culture diagnosis.
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2 ReactionsHad HOLEP 4 years ago. Prostate was quite large at 200. Many problems before HOLEP, but could not be happier after, quality of life greatly improved. Was on Flo-max for many years before HOLEP, so had retrograde before and after HOLEP. Best of luck.
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2 ReactionsI had HoLEP April, 2021. I was 65. It was an amazing result to my urological journey that lasted about 12 years. My first urologist wanted to do TERP. I was hesitant because of the higher chance of loss of sexual function. Then my employer changed insurance companies and the new urologist did a Urolift, it was a waste of time as my prostate grew rapidly. Then the same surgeon did Laser Green Light surgery, which worked great for about a month then things reverted, the frequencies and urgencies came back. I had to wear Depends. Then that surgeon referred me to another to do a robotic surgery and that surgeon said I'd be best served with HoLEP and sent me to another surgeon. She was great and had done the procedures hundreds of times. I always research their history. They did keep me overnight as my procedure was late afternoon, went home the next morning without a catheter and life has been great since. I was peeing like I was 19, feeling like I could put out a fire. The pressure does go down after time but no more dribbles, urgencies, frequencies or Depends. Sex, I'd say sex definitely improved. No more hurry up to the rest room. Ejaculation is retrograde, but otherwise, sex has been wonderful. I think we had sex sooner than I was supposed to, at around two weeks. We took it slow, no problems. There were some chunks and blood clots for a while after, nothing painful or scary. Because I have a very fast growing prostate I asked the surgeon if It would grow enough to cause problems again. She said maybe if I live to be 120. We're lucky we live in a time of rapidly evolving technology. I wish you well with your procedure.
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2 ReactionsWish I could say the same. My Holep was done in March of 2025 and has been a disaster ever since. None stop leakage ever since. I am now told from these same doctors that I need an artificial urinary sphincter to fix this problem. The same ones that said Holep would be no problem because I am young and healthy. Just remember that whatever you do there is the chance that you cant go back. Everybody has different outcomes.
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2 Reactions@jiminos
Thanks for your feedback, nothing like positive outcomes to lessen anxiety…
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1 Reaction@jiminos where did you get care and who was the doctor?