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How Does Prostate Surgery Work

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What Is The Most Common Approach

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A technique called transurethral resection of the prostate is considered to be the standard surgical approach. This procedure involves inserting a thin tube called a resectoscope into the urethra and guiding it through to the prostate. The resectoscope is equipped with a tiny camera and an electrical loop that is used to mechanically remove prostate tissue. The loop produces heat at the same time, which quickly seals off the blood vessels. The resectoscope also has valves that regulate the release of fluid to flush the removed tissue out. TURP takes about 90 minutes and is done under local or general anesthetic. Men who have had this procedure usually need to have a urinary for a few days after, and generally stay in the hospital for two to seven days. They then have to rest and take it easy for a few weeks.

Some variations of TURP are also considered to be standard treatments and have similar outcomes and consequences to conventional TURP. These include transurethral electrovaporization , transurethral vaporesection and plasmakinetic enucleation of the prostate .

What Are The Benefits Risks And Side Effects Of Minimally Invasive Surgeries

Symptom relief is the biggest benefit of minimally invasive surgery. Some men have fewer problems controlling their urine after they have one of these procedures. However, having minimally invasive surgery may increase the risk that you will need to have another surgery in the future.

Side effects from minimally invasive surgery may include:

  • Needing to urinate more often
  • Sudden urges to urinate
  • Semen flowing backward into the bladder instead of out of the penis

Days Before Your Surgery

Follow your healthcare providers instructions for taking aspirin

If you take aspirin or a medication that contains aspirin, you may need to change your dose or stop taking it 7 days before your surgery. Aspirin can cause bleeding.

Follow your healthcare providers instructions. Dont stop taking aspirin unless they tell you to. For more information, read the resource Common Medications Containing Aspirin, Other Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs , or Vitamin E.

Stop taking vitamin E, multivitamins, herbal remedies, and other dietary supplements

Stop taking vitamin E, multivitamins, herbal remedies, and other dietary supplements 7 days before your surgery. These things can cause bleeding. For more information, read the resource Herbal Remedies and Cancer Treatment.

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Does Prostate Tissue Grow Back After Turp

after TURPprostateprostateprostate gland can grow back again

. Beside this, can prostate tissue grow back?

The prostate gland can regrow. As the prostate regrows, the level of prostate-specific antigen can increase. So, a rising PSA level can result either from the regrowth of benign prostate tissue if you have had surgery for BPH or from the presence of prostate cancer.

One may also ask, what can I expect after TURP prostate surgery? Your RecoveryTransurethral resection of the prostate is surgery to remove prostate tissue. For several days after surgery, you may feel burning when you urinate. Your urine may be pink for 1 to 3 weeks after surgery. You also may have bladder cramps, or spasms.

Correspondingly, how much prostate is removed during TURP?

In the open surgery group, the largest prostate was measured at 160 ml, with a mean value of 90 ml. In 42 cases, in the TURP arm, the prostate was removed in two interventions, and the final result was consistent with the general features of the TURP arm.

How long does it take to fully recover from TURP surgery?

It usually takes between 3 and 6 weeks to fully recover from a TURP. Your surgeon or GP will advise you about when its safe to return to your normal activities.

How Do You Find It

How Does Robotic Surgery Work?

Youll need to head south along the back road to find it in a magical place called the anal region.

Although entering through the anus is the most direct way, you can also stimulate the prostate indirectly through the perineum, or taint.

This is the skin that runs underneath the scrotum to the anus.

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* Minimal Blood Loss With Da Vinci Robotic

The average estimated blood loss per patient averages 116 cc. This volume is roughly the 1/3 of the volume of a 12 oz. soda can. Estimated Blood loss has ranged for robotic patients from 25cc to a maximum of 400 cc in the 1st 100 patients. Because of these low blood losses, none of these men required a blood transfusion, nor were they asked to donate autologous blood prior to surgery.

Why The Procedure Is Performed

Radical prostatectomy is most often done when the cancer has not spread beyond the prostate gland. This is called localized prostate cancer.

Your doctor may recommend one treatment for you because of what is known about your type of cancer and your risk factors. Or, your doctor may talk with you about other treatments that could be good for your cancer. These treatments may be used instead of surgery or after surgery has been performed.

Factors to consider when choosing a type of surgery include your age and other medical problems. This surgery is often done on healthy men who are expected to live for 10 or more years after the procedure.

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How Turp Is Performed

TURP is carried out using a device called a resectoscope, which is a thin metal tube containing a light, camera and loop of wire. This is passed along your urethra until it reaches your prostate, which means no cuts need to be made in your skin.

The loop of wire is then heated with an electric current and used to cut away the section of your prostate causing your symptoms. A thin tube called a catheter is then inserted into your urethra to pump fluid into the bladder and flush away pieces of prostate that have been removed.

General or spinal anaesthesia is used during the procedure so you don’t feel any pain while it’s carried out.

What Are The Side Effects

Robotic Prostate Surgery | Q& A

The most common side effects of surgery are leaking urine and problems with getting or keeping an erection .

Your risk of getting these side effects depends on your overall health and age, how far the cancer has spread in and around the prostate and how likely it is to grow, and your surgeons skill and experience.

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How Bad Is The Pain After Prostate Surgery

The level of pain is lower than that of open prostatectomy, due to smaller incisions. However, you will be administered pain medication both orally and intravenously, through an IV. Make sure you have someone to pick you up from the hospital, as you wont be able to drive right away. Ask your doctor to recommend some pain medication and dosages that you can take from home most common ones are Tylenol or Ibuprofen. Even though the recovery is fast, you should get plenty of rest and not force yourself with lifting weights or exercises in the first few weeks.

Why Turp Is Carried Out

TURP is often recommended when prostate enlargement causes troublesome symptoms and fails to respond to treatment with medication.

Symptoms that may improve after TURP include:

  • problems starting to urinate
  • a weak urine flow or stopping and starting
  • having to strain to pass urine
  • a frequent need to urinate
  • waking up frequently during the night to urinate
  • a sudden urge to urinate
  • being unable to empty your bladder fully

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Surgery For Prostate Cancer : Introduction

With prostate cancer, when conditions warrant, it can become necessary to completely remove the prostate gland in order to reduce the chance of the cancer spreading further. In surgery for prostate cancer, this is known as a radical prostatectomy. While the prostate serves an accessory role in ejaculation and aides in stemming the flow of urine , it is not essential and can generally be removed with only minor effect on patient quality of life, while greatly increasing patient longevity.

Radical prostatectomy has been performed as an open surgery for quite some time with good success, however as minimally invasive surgery has evolved, it has become possible to perform radical prostatectomies laparoscopically. Recent leaps in technology with the advent of Intuitive Surgical Inc.’s da Vinci robot have taken radical prostatectomy past laparoscopy to an all new level of success. In the hands of a skilled surgeon like Dr. Ahlering, of UC Irvine Medical in Orange County, this new tool allows the radical prostatectomy to be performed minimally invasively with greater precision and ease to both the patient and the surgeon than ever before.

Recovering From Prostate Surgery

How does a robotic surgery work? [photos, video ...

To treat prostate cancer, doctors perform tens of thousands of surgeries each year. In recent years, one procedure — called a radical prostatectomy — has become a fine art, says J. Brantley Thrasher, MD, a professor of urologic surgery at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City. While side effects like incontinence and impotence are still major concerns, most patients respond well to the surgery, Thrasher says.

In fact, many men respond almost too well. “They feel so good after the surgery that they start to push themselves too hard,” he says. One of his recent patients went on a two-mile jog — while still wearing a catheter. “I told him he needed to slow down and rest for a while.”

If you have a radical prostatectomy in your future, you’ll want to know what to expect. Here’s a closer look at this procedure. As you’ll see, your life won’t necessarily take a turn for the worse after prostate surgery. In fact, it just might get better.

Why do surgeons perform radical prostatectomies?

According to the Food and Drug Administration, radical prostatectomy is considered to be the most definitive treatment for many men with prostate cancer, a disease that kills about 30,000 American men each year. Depending on their age and the stage of their cancer, however, some men do well with a less invasive treatment.

How should I prepare for surgery?

What happens during a radical prostatectomy?

What will happen during recovery in the hospital?

References

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Who Are Good Candidates For Catheterization

Good candidates for catheterization include men who are waiting for medication to work or waiting for surgery. Catheters are also used during treatment for an infection. They may be a good choice for men who have multiple medical problems and a short life expectancy. The risks and discomfort of surgery may outweigh the risk of infection or cancer.

What Are The Benefits Risks And Side Effects Of Cwva

The treatment is done in the doctors office with local anesthesia or after you have taken a pill for pain. You may have blood in your urine and need to use a catheter for a few days. Painful or frequent urination should go away within about 3 weeks. Sexual side effects, such as erectile dysfunction, are unlikely.

Studies currently suggest that symptom improvement may last for up to 4 years. It is not currently known whether the treatment continues to work long-term or whether patients eventually need to have additional treatment.

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Life After Prostate Cancer Treatment

Adjusting to life after prostate cancer treatment can take time. For some men, the emotional impact of what they have been through may not hit them until they have finished treatment. For others, working through the physical side effects is their immediate focus.

Although prostate cancer treatment can be lifesaving, it can also take a toll on the body. This can result in a disruption to normal urinary, bowel and sexual function.

Whether you have surgery, radiation or hormone therapy, you are likely to have side effects.

“It’s important to talk with your health care provider about these side effects before you start treatment, so you can learn about the range of options to treat them,” says Anne Calvaresi, DNP, CRNP, RNFA, Urology Nurse Practitioner at the Kimmel Cancer Center, Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.

Types Of Radical Prostatectomy

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There are three main types of radical prostatectomy:

  • Retropubic. In this procedure, the surgeon uses an incision in the lower abdomen to remove the prostate and the lymph nodes for examination. This procedure allows for a nerve-sparing approach, which can lower but not totally eliminate the risk of impotence following surgery. In the nerve-sparing approach, the surgeon tries to preserve one or both of the small nerve bundles needed for unassisted erections. However, if the cancer has spread to the nerves, this approach may not be advised.
  • Laparoscopic. In this recently developed procedure, the prostate is removed in a fashion similar to a retropubic prostatectomy, but the procedure is performed through five very small incisions using lighted, magnified scopes and cameras. The prostate specimen is then removed in a small bag through one of the incisions, which is expanded to 2 to 3 cm to allow specimen removal.Potential benefits of this procedure are less pain and earlier return to full activities. Nerve-sparing methods and lymph node dissections can be performed with this technique as well.
  • Perineal. In this procedure, the prostate is removed through an incision in the skin between the scrotum and anus. The lymph nodes can’t be removed through this incision. If the lymph nodes need to be examined, removal can be done through a small abdominal incision or by a laparoscopic procedure. A nerve-sparing approach can be performed perineally.

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Advantages And Disadvantages Of Surgery

What may be important for one person might be less important for someone else. The advantages and disadvantages of surgery may depend on your age, general health and the stage of your cancer.

Advantages

  • If the cancer is completely contained inside the prostate, surgery will remove all of the cancer.
  • The prostate is looked at under a microscope to give a clearer picture of how aggressive your cancer is, whether it has spread outside your prostate and if you need further treatment.
  • Your health professionals can get a good idea of whether your cancer was completely removed during surgery. Your PSA level should drop so low that its not possible to detect it at six to eight weeks after surgery.
  • If there are signs that your cancer has come back or wasnt all removed, you may be able to have further treatment.
  • Some men find it reassuring to know that their prostate has been physically removed, although you will still need to have follow-up tests to make sure no cancer cells have spread outside the prostate.

Disadvantages

What Happens After Laparoscopic Prostatectomy

After surgery, you will be hospitalized for approximately two to three days so that doctors can monitor your recovery process and ensure no complications occur after surgery.

Your diet will consist of fluids shortly after the procedure and after youre cleared by your doctor, you may begin to eat regularly again.

You will be encouraged to walk soon after your surgery. This helps prevent complications and helps the healing process by circulating blood in your body.

After you are discharged from Cleveland Clinic, it is normal to feel tired for several weeks after the procedure. It is important however to keep doing light exercise such as walking to continue the healing process.

Any heavy lifting should be avoided for at least three weeks after surgery to avoid injury.

The most important thing is to take it easy and to return to normal activities on a timeline that feels right for you.

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What Happens During Surgery

The aim of surgery is to make the prostate gland smaller so that it no longer pushes against the bladder and urethra. In most of the approaches, tiny instruments are guided through the urethra until they reach the prostate, where they are used to remove tissue or widen the urethra. This kind of procedure is known as keyhole surgery. If the prostate gland is very large, it may be operated on from the outside, through a cut in the abdominal wall . This is rarely necessary, though.

Many different surgical techniques and many different instruments and devices can be used to remove prostate tissue in different ways.

Risks Of Prostate Surgery

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The risks with any type of radical prostatectomy are much like those of any major surgery. Problems during or shortly after the operation can include:

  • Reactions to anesthesia
  • Blood clots in the legs or lungs
  • Damage to nearby organs
  • Infections at the surgery site.

Rarely, part of the intestine might be injured during surgery, which could lead to infections in the abdomen and might require more surgery to fix. Injuries to the intestines are more common with laparoscopic and robotic surgeries than with the open approach.

If lymph nodes are removed, a collection of lymph fluid can form and may need to be drained.

In extremely rare cases, a man can die because of complications of this operation. Your risk depends, in part, on your overall health, your age, and the skill of your surgical team.

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How Fast Will I Become Totally Continent After Prostate Surgery

During surgery for prostate cancer, the urethra is also affected and, depending on the experience of the surgeon, more or less of the continence function will be preserved. Due to the high precision of robotic surgery, the patient will have a catheter for roughly one week and the trauma to the urinary function will be minimum.

The discomfort that patients feel during this time is minimum, but you should expect the removal to make you feel uneasy. The catheter will be removed during a visit to your doctor, so do not try to do this at home, as it could cause infections. The degree of which the urinary function will be affected depends on how normal the function was before surgery, age and weight.

It is worth noting that most men will experience some degree of incontinence after prostate surgery, but control can be regained within several weeks or months to a year.

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