1. < Prostate Cancer

Tulsa Pro Experience, Mayo Clinic MN – July 2024

Posted by jcf58 @jcf58, Jul 19, 2024

Gleason 7 (4+3). I was treated Wednesday July 17, 2024. I checked in at 7am, entered the MRI/Tulsa suite at 8:15, and woke up in the recovery room around 11:30am. Approximately 30% of my prostate was ablated. I woke up with no pain and catheter in. The first 5-6 hours of the catheter were a little tough as I felt an urgent need to pee, but you can’t because you have the catheter in. Was fine after that. I did take Oxybutynin for bladder spasms at night. At 12:30pm, I walked out of the hospital and 2 blocks to my car to be driven home to Minneapolis.
Over the course of the next 40 hours, I just needed to regularly empty the catheter bag and continued to have no pain. Didn’t even take a Tylenol. The morning after TULSA I took my normal 2 mile walk. Catheter was removed at 7:45 Friday morning and I was good to go home. Catheter removal was not bad and they had to ensure I could pee on my own before release. Urine stream is about half of normal but will improve as inflammation of urethra declines. No medication needed at this point.
I did a ton of research before deciding on TULSA Pro. I talked to 7 different doctors. 4 current and 3 retired (1 had RP and another had radiation). The technology and low risk of side effects made this an easy choice for me. I was also fortunate to have the cancer contained in a fairly small lesion.
I couldn’t be more pleased with the procedure and my care at Mayo.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Prostate Cancer Support Group.

jcf58 | @jcf58 | Oct 20, 2024

Mine was billed under code C9734.

I got this from Google: Medicare will start reimbursing the TULSA-PRO procedure on January 1, 2025. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has established three Common Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes for the procedure, depending on how many physicians are involved:
5x006: TULSA Device Management
5x007: TULSA Treatment, used when two physicians are involved
5x008: TULSA Complete Procedure, used when one physician is involved

**Until the new codes take effect, hospitals performing the procedure on Medicare patients should use the C9734 code.**

Profound has more info at this link:
https://profoundmedical.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/109923E_TULSA-PRO-Coding-and-Billing-Guide_2024.pdf

REPLY
jcf58 | @jcf58 | Oct 20, 2024
In reply to @drax45 "I am having the TULSA procedure this month in California, but I was assuming that Medicare..." + (show)
@drax45

I am having the TULSA procedure this month in California, but I was assuming that Medicare was not yet covering the cost. Are you aware of what codes were used or other details of you circumstance which may have allowed you to qualify? Thanks in advance.

Jump to this post

I will try to find my Medicare record for the codes. Others on this site have said it needs to be performed at a hospital to be paid by Medicare. I had mine done at Mayo's hospital in Rochester, MN. I didn't check with Medicare as I was going forward regardless. Profound Medical has reimbursement guidelines on their website that may help:
For additional assistance, please contact Profound Medical’s TULSA-PRO® reimbursement specialists at:
Phone (Toll-Free): 855-285-5724
Fax (Toll-Free): 833-557-0896
Email: Support@PROFOUNDReimbursement.com

REPLY
drax45 | @drax45 | Oct 20, 2024
In reply to @jcf58 "Medicare Coverage: I had my procedure at Mayo on July 17. My final bill after Medicare..." + (show)
@jcf58

Medicare Coverage: I had my procedure at Mayo on July 17. My final bill after Medicare and BCBS supplement plan was $6.

Jump to this post

I am having the TULSA procedure this month in California, but I was assuming that Medicare was not yet covering the cost. Are you aware of what codes were used or other details of you circumstance which may have allowed you to qualify? Thanks in advance.

REPLY
1 reply
pdcar4756 | @pdcar4756 | Oct 13, 2024
In reply to @jcf58 "It may be hard to compare our experiences. I had 30% of a 45cc prostate ablated,..." + (show)
@jcf58

It may be hard to compare our experiences. I had 30% of a 45cc prostate ablated, or 13.5cc. You had 60cc ablated, a much greater volume.

I have had General Anesthesia a number of times and never had much of a reaction. I actually felt like I could have driven home after the procedure.

Also, likely because of the small volume ablated, I did not get Flo-max or prednisone. I did call Mayo about a week after as my urine stream was only about 1/3rd of normal. They assured me that was OK, and the fact that I was continent put me ahead of the curve.

I would call on the fluid retention (maybe medication related or trauma from the ablation).

Doctor told me it would take about a year for the body to absorb and eliminate the ablated tissue. I did notice some tissue come out when urinating a week or 2 after the procedure.

Best of luck.

Jump to this post

Thanks. I'm hoping all I'm experiencing is just part of my body's reaction to the procedure. It was delivered a pretty significant blow. I sent Dr. Woodrum a message via the portal. If I don't have an answer by mid morning, or if things get worse I will most definitely call the office.
Appreciate your quick response very much!

REPLY
jcf58 | @jcf58 | Oct 13, 2024
In reply to @pdcar4756 "I had my procedure on October 9, stayed on campus until I was released on Oct..." + (show)
@pdcar4756

I had my procedure on October 9, stayed on campus until I was released on Oct 12. I have now returned to a small town in Colorado. I've never been under general anesthesia so I don't know how long it takes for the body to rid itself of whatever chemicals they used. I'm still feeling off the mark and my stomach is queasy. They also gave me prednisone and flomax which I've never taken before either. One thing I've noticed which is alarming me and if it's not better tomorrow I will be contacting Mayo. I was wondering, after your procedure did you notice any fluid retention below the surface, above your penis, on your pubic mound? I believe I'm experiencing a pretty significant accumulation of something there which was not there prior to the procedure. Maybe this is just part of the healing process, but it has me a bit worried, since medical care where I now am is limited. It's not causing any discomfort that I can tell, but it strikes me as odd, since they didn't mention it to me at Mayo as part of any normal healing process. They ablated 60 cc of my 100 cc prostate, so I expect my body has some work to do to get rid of the dead cells. I was just wondering what was your experience. Thanks much!

Jump to this post

It may be hard to compare our experiences. I had 30% of a 45cc prostate ablated, or 13.5cc. You had 60cc ablated, a much greater volume.

I have had General Anesthesia a number of times and never had much of a reaction. I actually felt like I could have driven home after the procedure.

Also, likely because of the small volume ablated, I did not get Flo-max or prednisone. I did call Mayo about a week after as my urine stream was only about 1/3rd of normal. They assured me that was OK, and the fact that I was continent put me ahead of the curve.

I would call on the fluid retention (maybe medication related or trauma from the ablation).

Doctor told me it would take about a year for the body to absorb and eliminate the ablated tissue. I did notice some tissue come out when urinating a week or 2 after the procedure.

Best of luck.

REPLY
1 reply
pdcar4756 | @pdcar4756 | Oct 13, 2024
In reply to @jcf58 "Excellent! Waiting for the procedure was the toughest part for me 😉. Best of luck. Hope..." + (show)
@jcf58

Excellent! Waiting for the procedure was the toughest part for me 😉. Best of luck. Hope your experience will be as positive as mine has been.

Jump to this post

I had my procedure on October 9, stayed on campus until I was released on Oct 12. I have now returned to a small town in Colorado. I've never been under general anesthesia so I don't know how long it takes for the body to rid itself of whatever chemicals they used. I'm still feeling off the mark and my stomach is queasy. They also gave me prednisone and flomax which I've never taken before either. One thing I've noticed which is alarming me and if it's not better tomorrow I will be contacting Mayo. I was wondering, after your procedure did you notice any fluid retention below the surface, above your penis, on your pubic mound? I believe I'm experiencing a pretty significant accumulation of something there which was not there prior to the procedure. Maybe this is just part of the healing process, but it has me a bit worried, since medical care where I now am is limited. It's not causing any discomfort that I can tell, but it strikes me as odd, since they didn't mention it to me at Mayo as part of any normal healing process. They ablated 60 cc of my 100 cc prostate, so I expect my body has some work to do to get rid of the dead cells. I was just wondering what was your experience. Thanks much!

REPLY
2 replies
jcf58 | @jcf58 | Sep 2, 2024
In reply to @pdcar4756 "Yes, these remaining few weeks are really beginning to weigh on me. I'm having this strong..." + (show)
@pdcar4756

Yes, these remaining few weeks are really beginning to weigh on me. I'm having this strong need to get this behind me, along with the worry............what if things have gone on too long. I was extremely diligent about all of this and my first MRI in 2022, the radiologist missed my lesion on his read. I've been walking around with this cancer for 2 years longer than I should have. This really bothers me. I try to tell myself........well, two years ago you probably couldn't have had TULSA-PRO either. I always trusted the words of doctors. It destroyed my confidence in them. I never even thought two years ago about a second opinion. I will now seek one for anything of major consequence with my health going forward.

Jump to this post

I had same concern. I figured since Mayo wasn’t concerned, I shouldn’t be. Ironically my PSA actually went down a bit in the 2+ months I was waiting 😉

REPLY
pdcar4756 | @pdcar4756 | Sep 2, 2024
In reply to @jcf58 "Excellent! Waiting for the procedure was the toughest part for me 😉. Best of luck. Hope..." + (show)
@jcf58

Excellent! Waiting for the procedure was the toughest part for me 😉. Best of luck. Hope your experience will be as positive as mine has been.

Jump to this post

Yes, these remaining few weeks are really beginning to weigh on me. I'm having this strong need to get this behind me, along with the worry............what if things have gone on too long. I was extremely diligent about all of this and my first MRI in 2022, the radiologist missed my lesion on his read. I've been walking around with this cancer for 2 years longer than I should have. This really bothers me. I try to tell myself........well, two years ago you probably couldn't have had TULSA-PRO either. I always trusted the words of doctors. It destroyed my confidence in them. I never even thought two years ago about a second opinion. I will now seek one for anything of major consequence with my health going forward.

REPLY
1 reply
kevinsabin | @kevinsabin | Sep 1, 2024
In reply to @jcf58 "Medicare Coverage: I had my procedure at Mayo on July 17. My final bill after Medicare..." + (show)
@jcf58

Medicare Coverage: I had my procedure at Mayo on July 17. My final bill after Medicare and BCBS supplement plan was $6.

Jump to this post

Plus on the very low cost! Best wishes for cancer free future

REPLY
pmclarksr | @pmclarksr | Aug 31, 2024
In reply to @mrdennyb "I had Tulsa in Jax at Mayo on April 10, 2024 and all is well at..." + (show)
@mrdennyb

I had Tulsa in Jax at Mayo on April 10, 2024 and all is well at this point!

Jump to this post

Who was your Dr at Mayo Jacksonville?

REPLY
View MoreView Less
Please sign in or register to post a reply.