Welcome new friend- koolio

My PSA levels began to rise in 2008 and I had a biopsy then which didn't show any cancer. My PSA level was 4.0 . Last October my GP sent me back to the urologist as my PSA had gone up to 5.8. In December of 2011 a second biopsy, taking twice the number of samples, showed I had aggressive cancer with Gleason score 9 in 40% of the samples. A whole body scan showed no signs of the cancer having escaped the prostate, and a MRI confirmed that the cancer was still contained. So in February I had a radical prostatectomy which went well. However, three days after the op my right ureter blocked and I was rushed back to theatre to have a stent put in. A month of severe groin pain followed as my body didn't take too kindly to the stent. On one occasion I was taken to Emergency with a blocked stent and really severe renal cholic - not at all nice. Soon after they discovered I a lymphocele sitting right next to my bladder so for the next two months I endured repeated attempts to drain it. I was severely incontinent following the prostatectomy, getting through 7-8 pads a day. My urologist took pity on me and implanted the Advance Sling after just five months. As I wrote in my last post, all was great for 10 weeks, then the leaking started again. I'm back for another cystoscopy on 13 November and hopefully my urologist will come up with a way to get me dry again. My PSa remains at zero, so although I'm disappointed that I'm leaking again, I have much to be thankful for!

I had the new Advance XP sling implanted on Dec 11th (The original Advance sling failed after 10 weeks). It's not been entirely successful as I'm still leaking when I sneeze or cough, something which didn't happen with the first implant. I have read that a second sling implant has a lower rate of success than the first. I also discovered that American Medical Systems recalled the Advance Male Sling on Nov 6th due to defective sutures which could cause the sling to move during the early healing stages. In fact, they first recalled the sling way back in 2010. Check out the FDA website. I guess there is a chance that my first sling failed because the device itself was faulty. I still a few more weeks of no lifting or bending etc so I'm really praying that my new sling does the job!!