Success Of Radical Prostatectomy
The goal of radical prostatectomy is to cure prostate cancer. However, prostate cancer cure is only possible from prostatectomy if prostate cancer is limited to the prostate.
During radical prostatectomy, the removed prostate is examined under a microscope to see if prostate cancer has reached the edge of the prostate. If so, the prostate cancer has probably spread. In these cases, further treatments may be needed.
Men with no evidence of prostate cancer spread have an 85% chance of surviving 10 years after radical prostatectomy.Ã
What Is A Radical Prostatectomy
Surgery to remove the prostate is called a radical prostatectomy. Before the operation, the surgeon will explain what will happen and tell you about the possible side effects. They may also tell you about other treatments that may help in your situation, such as radiotherapy.
The aim of the surgery is to remove all of the cancer cells. It is usually only done when the cancer is contained within the prostate and has not spread to the surrounding area.
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What Do We Know About Potency After A Robitic Prostatectomy
The return of potency is dependent on several factors:
- Previous sexual function before surgery. Unfortunately, robotic prostatectomy will at best return you to your level of sexual function pre-surgery. It will not improve upon what you already had before surgery.
- Age. Theyounger you are, the better your chances. Men under 65 have abetter chance of regaining potency, or erectile function than those over 65.
- How many nerves are spared. As discussed previously, ideally both nerves can be spared and thiswill give you the highest chance of regain erections. However,even men with no nerve sparing can regain erectile function.
Questions To Ask Your Doctor Or Nurse
You may find it helpful to keep a note of any questions you have to take to your next appointment.
- What type of surgery do you recommend for me and why?
- What type of surgery do you recommend for me? Will you try to do nerve-sparing surgery?
- How many of these operations have you done and how many do you do each year?
- Can I see the results of radical prostatectomies youve carried out?
- What pain relief will I get after the operation?
- How and when will we know whether the operation has removed all of the cancer?
- How often will my PSA level be checked?
- What is the chance of needing further treatment after surgery?
- What is the risk of having urinary problems or erection problems and what support can you offer me?
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What Treatments Are Available To Me If My Incontinence Doesnt Go Away After A Year
While kegels and behavioral therapy work well for most men with mild to moderate leaking, they may not be completely effective for some. Luckily, there are still some options for treating bladder leakage after prostate surgery.
Another surgery is sometimes needed when bladder leaks persist for more than a year after surgery. This may consist of having a urethral sling procedure, or an artificial urinary sphincter.
With a urethral sling procedure, a synthetic mesh tape is implanted to support the urethra. Up to an 80% improvement has been seen with this procedure and some men stop leaking completely.
An artificial urinary sphincter is used in patients who have more severe urinary incontinence that is not improving, or for those patients who may have had a lot of damage to the sphincter muscle after prostate surgery. An artificial urinary sphincter is a mechanical ring that helps close the exit from the bladder.
As will all surgeries, these come with pros and cons and potential complications. Be sure to discuss these options with your doctor.
When You Might Have A Radical Prostatectomy
Your doctor might recommend a radical prostatectomy if:
- your cancer hasnt spread outside the prostate gland. This is localised prostate cancer
- your cancer has broken through the covering of the prostate and spread to the area just outside the prostate gland. This is locally advanced prostate cancer
- you are well enough to have this operation
The aim of a radical prostatectomy operation is to cure prostate cancer.
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Caring For The Incision
You will be able to take a shower the second day after your surgery. You may continue to have some discharge at the drain site for three to five days. Once you leave the hospital, the key words on caring for the drain site and incisions are clean and dry. Showering once a day and gently patting the area with a clean towel should be sufficient.
Surgery To Remove Prostate Cancer
Surgery is one of the main treatments for prostate cancer. You usually have surgery to remove your prostate gland. This is a radical prostatectomy.
A radical prostatectomy is a major operation with some possible side effects. You may not need this type of surgery if youre an older man with a slow growing prostate cancer. This is because your cancer might grow so slowly that youre more likely to die of old age or other causes than from prostate cancer.
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What To Expect After Prostate Laser Surgery
Laser surgery is an increasingly widely-used technique in men who were diagnosed with benign prostatic hyperplasia, an enlargement of the prostate that occurs in most men, to some degree, with age. Compared to traditional prostate surgery methods, prostate laser surgery has some distinct advantages. They include a lower risk of serious post-surgery bleeding, a much shorter hospital stay or the possibility of being treated on an outpatient basis, a significantly reduced need for a urinary catheter, and a much quicker recovery.
Nonetheless, prostate laser surgery, though delivered through concentrated beams of light that either vaporize or cut off excess prostate tissue rather than with a scalpel, is surgery. All forms of surgery carry some degree of risk, and all forms of surgery depend on you the patient to follow the appropriate aftercare guidelines delivered by your surgeon to the letter.
What Have I Learned By Reading This
You learned about:
- Why prostate cancer treatment can cause erectile dysfunction
- What can be done about erectile dysfunction
- How erectile dysfunction may affect your sex life
- What your partner can expect
If you have any questions, please talk to your doctor or health care team. It is important that you understand what is going on with your prostate cancer treatment. This knowledge will help you take better care of yourself and feel more in control. It will also help you manage any side effects you may have from your treatment.
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How Soon After Prostate Cancer Treatment Can I Be Sexually Active Again
This will depend on what type of treatment you have had and how you feel. It could be several weeks, for others it may be a lot longer for erections to return. Some men will never be able to keep an erection without the help of artificial methods like medicines or medical devices . If you were having problems having erections before treatment, this will not get better after treatment.
Cancer Treatments And Erectile Dysfunction
Following surgery, many men experience erectile dysfunction , but for many, the disruption is temporary. Nerves damaged during surgery may result in erectile dysfunction. A nerve-sparing prostatectomy may reduce the chances of nerve damage. Another factor is the surgeons skill level for performing the nerve-sparing technique, which if done correctly, may improve patients likelihood of retaining erectile function, says Dr. Shelfo.
Prostate cancer may also be treated with various types of radiation therapybrachytherapy, external beam radiation or stereotactic body radiation therapy. Each type of therapy causes somewhat different side effects. About half of all prostate cancer patients who undergo any of these types of radiation therapy are likely to develop erectile dysfunction, according to a 2016 article published in Advances in Radiation Oncology.
- You will stay in hospital for two to five days.
- Nurses will monitor your vital signs.
- Your pain will be managed with medication.
- You may be given antibiotics to reduce the risk of infection.
- You may have a drip inserted into your arm or hand for a few days.
- You will most likely have a drain tube out of your abdomen that will be removed in the first day or two after the surgery.
- In most cases, you will have to go home still wearing the catheter. You will be taught how to care for it.
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Staging Of Prostate Cancer
Doctors will use the results of your prostate examination, biopsy and scans to identify the âstageâ of your prostate cancer .
The stage of the cancer will determine which types of treatments will be necessary.
If prostate cancer is diagnosed at an early stage, the chances of survival are generally good.
How Can A Prostatectomy Impact Your Quality Of Life
Prostatectomy is not life-threatening, but prostate removal significantly affects the quality of life, and it may cause problems like urinary symptoms, bladder issues, erectile dysfunction, and more. T
These issues may last for several months and even years, something patients should be ready for if they decide to have the surgery.
However, a lot depends on the patients age and the kind of surgery done. Studies show that about 60% of patients would make an almost complete recovery within 3 months with no long-term complications. By 12-months, almost 90% of patients can expect to feel much better and nearly normal.
Unfortunately, improvement is slow for some people, and they need 2-3 years to revive their sexual function and get rid of urinary issues. Regretfully, these issues may continue to haunt some for a while.
Here it is vital to understand that the above data is for radical proctectomy . The outlook is better after partial proctectomy.
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Getting Ready For Surgery
You and your care team will work together to get ready for your surgery. Help us keep you safe during your surgery by telling us if any of the following statements apply to you, even if youre not sure.
- I take a blood thinner, such as:
About drinking alcohol
The amount of alcohol you drink can affect you during and after your surgery. Its important to talk with your healthcare providers about how much alcohol you drink. This will help us plan your care.
- If you stop drinking alcohol suddenly, it can cause seizures, delirium, and death. If we know youre at risk for these problems, we can prescribe medications to help keep them from happening.
- If you drink alcohol regularly, you may be at risk for other problems during and after your surgery. These include bleeding, infections, heart problems, and a longer hospital stay.
Here are things you can do before your surgery to keep from having problems:
- Be honest with your healthcare providers about how much alcohol you drink.
- Try to stop drinking alcohol once your surgery is planned. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you:
- Get a headache.
- For information about being a health care agent, read How to Be a Health Care Agent.
- If you have more questions about filling out a Health Care Proxy form, talk with your healthcare provider.
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What Are The Risks Or Complications Of Radical Prostatectomy
- Urinary incontinence: Some people experience urinary incontinence, although most people recover continence. Your provider can help you manage loss of bladder control and urine leakage.
- Erectile dysfunction: Many people have problems maintaining erections after this surgery. The likelihood of recovery of erectile function depends on your erections before surgery and your surgeons ability to spare the nerves that control erection at the time of surgery. You may need to use erectile dysfunction medications or other treatments. The older you are, the more likely problems may occur.
There is also a small risk that you may experience:
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Keeping Up With Appointments And Screenings
Attending your doctors appointments after youve entered remission is very important. If you need to skip an appointment, you should make another appointment as soon as possible.
Use these appointments as a time to discuss any concerns you may have with your doctor. Your doctor can also conduct tests to check for the cancers return during these appointments.
Two tests to detect recurrent prostate cancer include a digital rectal exam and a PSA blood test. During a DRE, your doctor will insert a finger into your rectum. If your doctor detects something unusual, theyll likely ask for additional follow-up tests. These tests may include bone scans and imaging studies, such as an ultrasound or MRI.
Men often experience side effects from their prostate cancer treatments. Some of these side effects may be immediate and temporary. Others may take several weeks or months to show up and never fully disappear.
Common side effects from prostate cancer treatment include:
The Purpose Of Prostate Surgery
Prostate cancer surgery, or radical prostatectomy, is a procedure conventional medicine praises for curing prostate cancer.
It has been performed for many years and was regarded as the gold standard of prostate cancer treatment. However, few studies compare its efficacy to other techniques.
Most men diagnosed with prostate cancer today are typically diagnosed with Gleason 6 cancer levels. But, according to many experts, this diagnosis may not be cancer! According to Mark Scholz, MD, a board-certified oncologist and expert on prostate cancer:
Misuse of the term cancer has tragic implications. Real cancer requires action and aggressive medical intervention with the goal of saving a life. But consider the potential havoc created by telling someone they have cancer when it is untrue. This dreadful calamity is occurring to 100,000 men every year in the United States with men who undergo a needle biopsy and are told they have prostate cancer with a grade of Gleason 6.
The impact of this is quite profound. Most prostate cancer diagnosed today falls into this Gleason 6. If it is not cancer, thousands of men have had aggressive treatment for cancer they dont really have.
Aggressive treatment, usually a complete surgical removal of the prostate , is the typical result. This leaves the patient to suffer from its side effects for the rest of their life.
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Help Managing Cancer Treatment Side Effects
The team at Compass Oncology is experienced in helping patients treat prostate cancer and manage the side effects of treatment. If you live in the Portland-Vancouver area, have more questions about the side effects of prostate cancer treatment, or need help managing your side effects, request an appointment at one of our locations that’s convenient for you. We’re here with you every step of the way.
What Happens After Urethral Sling Surgery
Patients usually recover from this surgery quickly. Its best to limit demanding activities for approximately six weeks after surgery to avoid having the sling loosen before healing is complete.
After surgery, there may be swelling that makes it difficult to urinate. Youll have a catheter coming out of the urethra for two to three days. After this, the catheter is removed and just about everyone is able to void on their own. In rare cases, the catheter may have to be reinserted for a few days or up to a week if you cannot urinate.
After the swelling goes down, youll gradually be able to urinate on your own and empty your bladder. However, your normal urination pattern may not return for a few weeks.
The majority of men whove had this procedure have been cured of their urinary incontinence and no longer use pads. The others usually improve to the point where they dont use as many pads as they were before.
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Considerations When Opting For Surgery
Before agreeing with any surgery, knowing its benefits and risks is vital. It is even more important when the surgery is not urgent, like in the cases of proctectomy.
Thus, one should ask a doctor about various treatment options, prostate surgery recovery, and what to expect after prostate surgery.
Sometimes prostate surgery is one of the options. Thus, it is important to ask a doctor if it would be better to have some watchful waiting.
If one goes for prostate removal, one should know about the benefits, prostate surgery complications, the side effects of living without a prostate, how long prostate cancer surgery is, its impact on sex life, etc.
Additionally, one should inquire about all the surgical options available and consider the risk and benefits of each of the options.
Quite often, doctors may also help in making the decision. Here good communication with a healthcare provider is the key.
Side Effects From Radiation
Urinary symptoms from radiation treatment for prostate cancer are different from those caused by prostate surgery. Its more like a urinary tract infection-increased urgency and frequency, and men may some have bleeding or pain when they urinate, Calvaresi said. These problems often go away once treatment is complete.
Radiation also may cause bowel changes, such as constipation, loose stools or both. These can be managed by over-the-counter medication. Men may also see some blood in their stool during treatment-if so, let your health care provider know about this.
Men undergoing radiation are likely to have ED, but not immediately. It slowly sets in after radiation treatment, Calvaresi said. Treatments for radiation-related ED are the same as ED caused by prostate cancer surgery.
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