Hi Salty,
When I had my consultation with Dr Fagin, he looked at my numbers and drew a picture of the prostate to explain where he would be cutting. I asked him if he will be cutting less of the bladder and if necessary cut a little more after prostate is removed and felt by bare hand. He told me that he normally be a little more generous with the cut and cut a little extra than going back and re cut. He said that it is better that way.
I also got a call from Elane, the nurse at Westlake, and she asked me lots of questions about my medical history for anesthesia purposes.
By the way, looks like you will be his second patient. You will be arriving at the "L" building and go the third floor where you will meet the registration nurse and she will take all your infromation (insurance pagers) and put the name tag band on your hand. She will then ask you to sit in the waiting area and a nurse will come through the doors opposite the resistration nurse office to get you. At this time only you will be able to go in with the nurse and she will ask you to remove all your personal clothings, and will give you a gown and socks to put on. You will then lie on the bed and varous nurses and anesthesia doctor will visit and ask questions. A nurse will put the "IV" needle in your hand. After they finish they will let your family in the room. Dr Fagin will arrive around the same time after the anesthesia doctor is done and he will fill in your prescription and complete all the paperwork for surgery. He will the talk to you and your family what to expect and will ask if you have any questions. You will then be given a tablet and rolled into the operation room. The last thing I remembered was seeing the DaVinci instrument covered all in plastic and it all went blank after that.
After the operation is completed Dr Fagin will get your family and let them know how the surgery went. You will not see him again that day as he will visit all patients between 5:00 AM and 6:00 AM the next morning. If your wife wants to stay the night she can as there is a sofa in the room and the nurse will give her extra blanket and pillow. My wife stayed in the room after the surgery.
Let me know if you have any questions.
KrisP