My Da Vinci story

My Da Vinci surgery story

 

Checked into the hospital at 5:30 am.  Around 6:15 I was in pre-op getting shaved and IV started. During that time both my doctor and the anesthesiologist came in and went over the procedure with me and answered any questions.

 

Around 7:30 I was wheeled into the operating room.  I remember sliding onto the operating table the next thing I knew I was in the recovery room.  After an hour or so I was moved to my  regular hospital room.   I had quite a bit of discomfort from what I think was gas.  It was manageable until around 11 pm.  I then asked for and received a pain pill.  After two pain pills I had to be given a dose of morphine at 2 AM.  It wore off around 4AM but the gas pain had gone from a 8 to around 3-4 on a scale of 10 and that was manageable without drugs.

 

I was not allowed to get out of bed until the next day.  As soon as I could I started walking hoping I could pass gas.  No luck

 

Around 4PM my gas and myself were discharged.  The bad news I had a two hour ride home.  The good news all the bouncing around in the car I passed most of the gas.  By the time I got home I was only sore from the incisions. 

 

It is now day 3 after the surgery and I am getting along very good.  Most of the pain from when I get up and down is gone. Just a little tender in the belly area.

 

Surgery was on the 13th and the doctor has scheduled a cystogram   for the 21st.  If all goes well the catheter will come out.  At this point I don't care too much about incontinence,  just get this thing out.  It does not hurt but what a pain to deal with.

 

Any questions let me know I will be glad to be as much help as I can.

 

Gary 

    

Post Edited (Gary M) : 11/16/2012 3:24:00 PM (GMT-7)

Way to go Gary. Welcome to the no-prostate club.

Keep walking, drinking fluids, and dreaming of not having a rubber hose following you around.

You will have good days and days as you heal, but keep on looking up.

Let us know how you are doing.

Thanks for sharing your experiences. I would be interested in any updates you want to share as there's a pretty good chance that, at some point, I will be going through the same procedure.

Gary, sounds like you had a pretty textbook perfect robotic surgery. Hope the rest of your recovery goes as well.

david

p.s. i had my original catheter in for 63 days, so your 1 week with it will go fast

Greetings All:

Welcome Gary M, sorry you have to be here. I had my open RPS on October 26, surgery went very well, all PC contained in prostate, no spreading, all removed. Problem was my bowels shut down completely and I could not pass even a pop. My belly looked like I was having triplets and the pain was terrible. Finally after almost 5 days, that first fart. Then things got moving, albeit slowly. Current day update, digestive system back to normal, eating well, walking 1/2 mile + a day with no pain and had Mr. Foley and my staples removed 13 days after surgery. Was not sorry to see him go, LOL. Since cath out, have had no problem with incontinence. Peeing like a fire hose and sleeping well and incision site healing well. Don't get discouraged. I know it's hard some time but day by day it will get much better. Remember that inside takes time to heal well, be careful, don't lift or strain yourself, just relax and heal well. I truly hope your recovery goes well.

Regards and Good Health to You and All My PC Brothers,,,,,,,,,,Hotrod

Gary,

Welcome to the otherside and thanks for sharing. Everytime I hear a story like yours it brings me back to when I had my DaVinci this pat summer.
We will never forget what it was like for us.

As others said, keep walking, water, walking, water, etc.

It took me a couple of weeks to wear pants with a belt. Elastic waist bands were more comfortable near all the incisions.

Getting the cath out is next major milestone, along with a positive path report.

It will be a Happy Thanksgiving for you this year without the cathater.

Good luck and keep us posted!

Bill

Hi Gary,
I'm also a relatively new member to the club. After considering the different treatment options, I decided on the DaVinci surgery. I had mine done on 11/1 and was released from the hospital the next afternoon. The catheter and my staples were removed in my urologist's office on 11/12 and I was so glad to rid myself of the tube. A good pathology report also made my day. The incontinence is nowhere near as bad as I thought. I was using the Depends pants during the first week, one at night and one during the day. Today I started using the Depends pads and so far so good. Still have some occasional blood in my urine, but I understand that is normal for 2-3 weeks. Best of luck with your recovery.

Gary,
I have a question Were you put on a respirator during the operation? What kind of clean out procedure did you have to do?
I just had my biopsy Tuesday. He saw something with the Ultrasound and felt the lump when he put his finger in to stop the bleeding.I am planning on the Da Vinci operation. I just wanted to know something before hand!
Thanks

Thanks Gary,
I am incontinent anyway so I most likely will be permanent after the operation. I know that he will have to move intestines to get to the prostate. I see my Urologist Tuesday I will ask him about a respirator.

HI Gary
I talked to my urologist yesterday. I will have mine out in January. He said that I will be on a ventilator. So there's the answer.

Having it out and not have to worry anymore, it will be worth it. My Urologist told me that the only good a prostate is is to manufacturer sperm, and to give a man problems the rest of his life!

My first post here.  New to all this and learning.  Husband received biopsy results yesterday.   Here to learn more about PC and read your experiences to make the right decisions and help my husband through this.  Thank you all for sharing, in advance.

12-10-12

PSA 4.2

Gleason 6 (3+3)

6 of 12 cores positive

Bone scan scheduled