Robotic Surgery--Got Feedback?

benj
HEY! I had Samadi too. He is great. Be sure to stay in the concierge suite if you can afford it. It did not make all that much difference for me, but was a lifesaver for my wife. Robotic was not a walk in the park for me. for some guys it seems to be a lot easier. I was uncomfortable for a few days, but was dry at night from day one. It took 10 weeks to be 100% dry and have been ever since. Don't even think about it anymore. ED is fine with viagra on an empty stomach. Email me if you want to talk about Samadi and other stuff in the area. Where do you live?
Paul

Welcome to Healingwell where you'll find many fellow travelers at all stages of the disease as well as a few of their wives. I had very similar stats to you and had robotic 18 months ago and I have no complaints. Out of hospital in 48 hours, lost the catheter after six days and incontinence resolved itself gradually over about 3 months. E.D. is a different matter as nerve saving was not an option in my case. Having said that there is a case to be made for open surgery with many surgeons preferring open because they can feel the texture etc. of the gland as they remove it. There is not a spectacular difference in recovery time as the internal surgery is much the same. All here will tell you that doctor selection is of paramount importance. Don't rush a decision and research carefully. Many here (including those who chose the radiation route) will help with any questions. Learn as much as you can before committing to your treatment and you will then be comfortable with your choice. Obtain and keep copies of all reports and tests and maintain your own records. Best wishes for your ultimate decision,
Bill

I had robotic surgery with Dr. Vipel Patel at Florida Hospital in Celebration, Fl near Orlando. Dr Patel is one of the best in the world at Robotic surgery. His entire team is top notch and the facility is like a 5 star resort. The fear of the surgery was worse than the actual procedure. Dr Patel had a concierge meet us at the front door and stay with us until I went into the pre-op room. After I was hooked up I don't remember anything until waking up in the recovery room where my wife was with me along with the head nurse. I had no pain. I was hooked up to an intervenous line, a catheter and a pain medication pump. Surgery was at 11:00 am and they had me walking that night. I was released the afternoon of the following day. My wife was able to spend the night with me in a fold out bed. Each recovery room is a private room.

I'm 60 yo and 176#. I am into physical fitness and went into surgery in great shape. My recovery had been easy. the worst part is the 6 days with the catheter. After that it was easy. I just met with Dr. Patel's office docs and was cleared to resume normal activity. I never had an ED problem. I did take the Doctor precribed Viagra 3 times a week and began having strong erections three weeks after surgery. I still leak however. The leakage is getting better daily. From 9 pads a day right after the catheter was removed to 2 pads today. I was just told that I could be pad free in another several weeks. My PSA is now <0.1. I have no pain and my body has only 5 slight scratches where the surgery occured.   

I am happy the cancer is out of my body and that I selected surgery with Dr. Patel over radiation.

Sam

  

Benj, my husband had robotic surgery north of New York City (at Northern Westchester Hospital Center) in March 2008. Surgery was done on Tuesday evening (he came out of the OR around 9:00 pm after 5 hours of surgery), and was released from the hospital Thursday around 1:00 pm. The catheter came out 9 days after surgery with no problems before, during or after. He was concerned about pain/discomfort due to the CO2 (carbon dioxide) which is blown into the abdominal cavity right before surgery (this is standard for any abdominal operation). To his great surprise and relief, he had absolutely no pain. The morphine line that was inserted was removed the next morning. In the hospital he had some problems passing blood clots in his urine, which is also common - that passed within the first 24 hours. After that, he had no problems urinating - with and without the catheter.

The surgical incisions are very small - one right above the navel (which is the largest), and two on each side of the abdomen. I think the largest incision was about 1.6 inches long; the other four were about 1 inch long. He was released on Oxy pain meds but never used them. Tylenol PM at night to help was all he needed.

He was not able to start on solid food until he had his first BM which occurred on Friday night. Definitely plan on using stool softeners for a few days and to start on them the minute you get home. They were a life saver for my husband since the last thing he wanted to do was to strain on the toilet - and he also wanted to start eating real food.

Once the catheter and staples came out 9 days later, he made a huge leap forward as his biggest complaint was the catheter. Incontinence was pretty good but he does still use a liner during the workday because he finds it hard to control his bladder when he's up and moving around alot. ED is still an issue and he recently began Viagra on a regular basis (2 to 3 times per week) which should help things in that department.

All in all, his surgical experience was much better than he thought it would be. Good luck with your decision.

Benj,
I had robotic surgery 2/9/09. I had very little pain for 1 day, 2 days after the surgery I walked 2 miles. I now walk between 3 and 4 miles every day with no pain at all. The catheter was removed after one week with no pain. The second day after removing the catheter I was dry at night. During the day I was using 2 pads and now I use only one pad and hope to be completely dry soon. As far as ED and afraid I can't help you since my surgery was non-nerve sparing.

I can only mirror what others have said about the DaVinci method. I stayed overnight after the surgery had very little real pain, and yes, the catheter for a week is an inconvenience. My continence returned about 3 weeks out. The jury is still out on any erection difficulties. I may be a little premature to think it will all be back now since my surgery was 1/22, just over a month ago. So far though, the Phoenix has not returned.

The best advice I can give is to talk to as many people and read through all the resource material you can. Be the informed decision maker. Interview, as in a business interview, any doctors you are considering. You are letting someone work in your nether regions. Make sure you believe he is not only competent, but the best you can find.

kcragman, that's why every dr. should write a prescription for the ditropan I was on for after surgery, only thing that kept me alive with the amount of bladder spasms I had and for being on catheters for 66 days. It's cheap med and nice to have handy if needed

Good deal, benj. Once the decision is made, it is much easier. Spend time now, if you can, with walking, exercising and building up some strength, if you don't exercise regularly. There's several good threads on the page that comes up when you click the second line of this page that deals with preparing for surgery, lists of items to have, etc. If you can't find them, let me know and I can post the links to them.

Hi Ben,
I too had the robotic on Feb 4th and am doing fine so far, and if you are a good candidate for it I would recommend it. I want to echo what James said above about being in good shape because it really does help. The first time they got me out of bed at the hosp I had to hang on the saline bag holder to get around the floor, but I kept at it and was able to get used to walking pretty quick (I also had a hernia repair at the same time). Before the surgery I tried to get as much exercise as possible and I was grateful for it afterwards, and I know the time before the op is short but whatever you can do will help. Also don't worry too much about the cath, you'll wake up with it in you already and though it's definitely not fun, it isn't painful, you'll get used to it, and removal was not the trauma I had imagined it to be either. Like you say, making the decision is one of the harder things to do and since you've got this far, try to relax and do all the fun things you can until the surgery, you'll get through just fine.
Best of luck and keep us informed!
Mark