Prostate surgery
 

For anyone that is thinking about the above I just came home from having mine taken out in San Antonio using the di Vinci robot and to put it bluntly, it was a piece of cake. I was walking down the ward hall about 5 hrs. after the op and went home the following day at 2pm. No real pain, even driving 3 hrs. back to Corpus Christi.

I have a catheter which will come out in 5 days. It is no problem, in fact in a way it is good to have. No more getting up at night (one of the other problems with an inflamed prostate), 3 hrs in the car with no pit stops, no pain pissing after the ops.

I am 63, 6 ft., 175 lbs., and in very good health and have no doubt that if I was so inclined I could probably go back to work next week. I am not inclined in the least and will milk this baby for all the days off I can get, but my feeling is that I could certainly go to work if I needed to.

The recovery period for the old fashioned open prostatectomy (gut and gill) is about a month from what I understand. In my researching about this operation I talked to many men that have had the open type op done and most said that they still didn't have their full strength back even after 6 months.

Guys, I would highly recommend that if you are over 40 get your PSA checked annually. I wouldn't choose to have this op done just to pass the time, but, from what I understand, it sure beats the hell out of prostate cancer.

Ouch.

B

Not really. I have 5 very small incisions in my abdomen about 2" above my navel and running left to right about 10". The biggest one in the center is about 3/4" long and is where they took out the prostate. I can't imagine what the cut from the 'gut and gill' method must feel like. I have a lot more sympathy for women that have a cesarean birth.

Kip,
Thanks for sharing this info. I will save it for future reference. I have kicked this can down the road way too long.

Glad things went well for you.

Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays, as you prefer.

I get the PSA and the annual digital love-fest.

Folks snipping around in my innards just makes me queasy.

Kip- Glad to hear your doing well.

I was recently reading about the DaVinci machine and was really impressed by what I read. Apparently they can do a lot of surgical proceedures this way and it reduces the hospital stay, recovery time, etc. considerably.

I hoping I can avoid any major surgery until they have perfected the machine that they just wave over your body to fix everything. It sounds far-fetched, but so does robotic surgery when I think back to what was possible when I was in college.

Glad to hear you're doing well. :)

Glad all went well, kip. My father is 71, was diagnosed with prostate cancer about 6 years ago. He had an excellent doctor that caught it early. Stage T1. Had the surgery done, they removed it all and he's been cancer-free since. Scared the hell out of all of us when we initially found out. I'll be signing up for the annual exams when I get older...

Thank you all for your well wishes.

I don't mean to sound like the guy who has just given up smoking and now wants to convert everyone but many of us on this board are over 40 and more than would like to be are over 50 and are at an age where psa numbers are becoming important. I mean 5 years ago I couldn't spell psa and now it is an important number in my life. Don't ignore it.

I'm a couple of years under 40, but I've already had my prostate examined once due to a peculiar prostate infection.

It was a bit uncomfortable, but I know I'll be having one down every year once I hit 40.

The only thing that worried me is that after checking my prostate, the doctor ran his middle finger under his nose, and took a big wiff.

Just kidding.

Kip,

The catheter thing sounds uncomfortable. Isn't that a tube that they stick up the tip of your penis? That has to hurt, man.

I'm 61 and the Doc just told me I have the prostrate of a 20 year old,,,, he got very intimate with me,,, a prostrate exam with both hands on my shoulders,,,, just kidding. The PSA made him very happy and his exam confirmed it. Seems that a lot of sexual activity helps to keep the prostrate healthy. :D

Tell me more...
 

Mu father, now 82, had the radiation treatment 7 yrs ago, and seed implants 6 mos ago. He is presently in the hospital with excrutiating pain when he pees. This might suggest a urinary tract infection, but the blood work does not support that theory, and antibiotics have not helped. Could you suggest a discusssion group where I might get ideas?

interesting.. reminds me of something that happened today

talking to a customer that came in with scrubs on i asked.. so what do you do in the medical field..

his reply : I work with aholes all day..
i was the only one that got it out of me and the cashier... the guy laughed too.. twas odd

How are the frank & beans working?