AdVance Male Sling System

Hi Dan,
This has been a intriguing subject this last couple weeks. kw is awaiting this procedure next week. Stay tuned and Gled to have you along. There are many who would like to know more about this procedure.

Tony

Many thanks.  I'm most interested in how the procedure goes and how you feel afterwards.  Can't find any dialogue on procedure and post op expectations. Dan

I am interested in this male sling procedure also---I have not had  my operation yest---selected davinci---buy I do have and urgency problem.  I think it would be best to have this operation at the same timeI have the davinci procedure.

ken

KW-  Good luck to you, too! Can't wait to hear of your good results!

To Cowboy Bob

I understand that you are having a AUS put in in April and the doctor is going to put in two cuffs to be sure you don't leak.  Sounds good doesn't it but don't rely on it.  I had this done in September 2007 and was told the same thing.  The whole thing did not work and the pump broke and caused an absess so i never did find out if two was better than one.  I had to have the unit replaced which i did on the 4th of Feb and have to wait another three weeks to have it activated.  As i was waiting to heal to get the new unit in i wondered if one cuff wasn't good enough to keep us dry the reliability of the whole unit is in question.  I told the doctor that i did not want two of them put in and that is what has been done.

FOR ANY OF YOU WHO ARE GOING TO HAVE AN AUS INSTALLED make sure you get on the net to find out as much as you can .  I never saw a unit and was told to just squeeze on the soft spot.  This time i told doctor before he activates anything i want to see a unit and see how it is supposed to operate and where i am to squeeze

I am coming along very well and don't have much pain at all so i hope everything will work well.  I hear some of you complaining about having a cathter in for a couple of weeks but i have had a catheter in my abdomin since the early part of Septembe 2007.  It isn't a lot of fun  Will be happy if and when it comes out.  Good luck to all of you

Jerryv

Berb and Jerryv- Thank you both so much. Berb- Having the one cuff sounds a lot simpler, but my doctor is one of the best around and I really trust him. He just feels that two would be better for someone in my situation. So I'm going to give it a shot. We'll see. Also, I asked him early on about the condom drain. He called it a "Texas condom" and said it was just a "piece of c__p." This was very disappointing, and I am very glad to hear yours is staying on and working so well. Good luck with your surgery!

Jerryv- What problems you have had! I feel for you, and hope everything works out in the long run. I know it all will. I wouldn't wish any of that on anyone!

My husband, who is 70 yrs. old had a prostectomy two years ago and has been leaking through 4 pads a day. 

He decided to have the AdVance Sling procedure to stop the leakage. His surgeon explained the procedure as using a material to create a pressure on the urethra and held in place by titanium bone screws into the pelvic bone.

He had the procedure four weeks ago and he only has slight leakage now, which is great, but there has been another problem. He is constant pain and has been to the emergency room twice. He can barely stand, sit or do anything but lie down since the operation. Even the pain pills are not helping. All the tests came up negative. The doctor is sugesting a pain management program and if that doesn't work, he will have to remove the sling. My husband doesn't want it removed because it is working, but he can't go on like this either.

If any one has had a similar experience or any suggestions, pleas let me know?

Veronica

Kelly,

I made a mistake on the name of the sling operation. It is the InVance Male Sling System and the procedure I described is for men. The web site is www.prostate-cancer.org/education/sidefx/Leach_Incontinence.html.

I did research the procedure before he asked his doctor if he was this procedure would help him. I wish I would have researched more options. Who would know this would happen.

I am going to try to find another doctor and get a second opinion on what to do.

Thank you for your help. I will take all the advice I can get.

Veronica

I'm having this procedure March 7, 2008. Have used 6 pads/day for 3 years. Elected to pass on 'the gold standard' and collegan alternatives.

March 7 2004 I had the AdVance Sling installed. The operation was to last an hour and ran slightly past that estimate. At 7am I went in the OR and woke up in recovery about 10. I had reserved a private room and used it from noon until about 5pm. Was able to go home w/o catherter then. The same MD who did the sling had 3 AMS800 aus units to install after me. He had urged me to get the AMS800 because my leak rate was 6 FULL pads daily and he said a reduction to 1 or 2 pads a day was all I should expect from the sling. I considered the AMS800 a couple of years ago and decided I did not want all that plumbing and it had a 25-30% surgical revision rate.

The operation produced significant swelling and I should have reserved a wheelbarrow instead of the room. Because pain meds produce side effects I wanted to avoid, I used a lot of Tylenol. The first 4 days were rough and spent on my back with an ice pack between my legs. In fact I'm still in that mode but moving around is much easier now.

Thus far the MD was correct, looks like 1 pad/day but I can not yet do enough to put it to a good test. I'm to take it easy for 6 weeks and that won't be a problem. I'm happy with my outcome.

The balance of this story will describe my situation in the hope that someone may benefit from my experience/mistakes/hindsight.

My prostate began to cause problems in 1990 when I was 56 yrs of age. Hytrin quickly took care of the situation. My internal med MD retired and the new MD started me on Proscar which also worked fine and was to shrink the prostate. I took Proscar from 95 until 2004 and had wonderful results. PSA tests were performed 10 times during that period. In April 2004 the reading was 2.2 but had gone to 3.2 by October at which time a DRE (finger wave) found a nodule. I had never used the services of a urologist in my life and did not want to start.

However I needed a biopsy and went to my new MD (urologist). The first news from him was to explain that my PSA was really 6.4 instead of 3.2. Proscar masks the readings. The biopsy revealed one side of my prostate was full of cancer with a Gleason of 3+4=7. Because Proscar had done a good job, I now had a large cancer in a small prostate. He indicated that might not be the best situation. My Uncle had gotten excellent results from seed implants so that was my first treatment choice. My new friend said I had too much cancer for that approach and should consider external radiation or surgery. The robotic arm was being used by a MD in Florida and was the only one I could find on the net. His web site sounded more like an advertisement than anything else. This was in December 2004.

Because I'd had an emergency appendectomy a couple of years earlier using arthroscopic surgery, I wanted that for my prostate. I live in Dallas and at that time only 2 surgeons in the state used that procedure. One was at MDAnderson in Houston (my fav cancer hospital) and the other was at UT Southwestern in Dallas. My urologist had performed the biopsy at UT and arranged a visit for me with the arthroscopic surgeon. Naturally he had patients lined up for several months and I was afraid to wait. Maybe I should have.

The surgery took place at Christmas 2004 using the open method (RRP?) The MD was a competent, caring man who did the best he could with the situation he had to work with. I'm cancer free which was the objective. And thankful to him for his skill and God for His love.

I had my laparoscopic surgery on January 30th and the catherter removed two weeks after, which was on February 12. I have no idea that I was going to be leaking. The nurse told me and she told me that it will last for a while. Then I called the Urologist to confirm what his nurse told me about the incontinence, he told me he was sorry that we did not discuss this during the pre-surgery consultation. By the way the surgery well, recovery time very short, but the leak. In the first two weeks, I used up to 6 pads a day. At night I am relatively dry, but when I am up , walking or sitting there is no let up, Kegel or no Kegel. I called my doctor again, and he told me that this will alst at least 5 to 6 months.
The doctors at Mayo clinics are quite good, but is this a prognosis that I should take to heart?

I am looking for a Physical Therapist that can help me isolate the pelvic floor muscle. I really want to know if I am doing the Kegel right. Any suggestion of a Physical Therapsit in my neck of the wood? I live in Jacksonville Florida.