Just had a sling installed

A week ago I finally had the AdVance sling installed (if that's the right word), by Dr. Ronald Benoit at Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh PA. It's been almost two years since my RRP, and it looked like my incontinence was never going to be completely resolved, with constant leaking, totaling 1 pad/day on a good day and 2-3 on days with lots of activity. So my urologist said it was time to do the sling.

So far, results have been very encouraging. I have been COMPLETELY DRY since getting home from the hospital 6 days ago. No drips. No leaks. No pads. I can only hope that the sling stays taut and well attached -- in other words, that I don't do anything in the 6 week recovery period to mess up the surgeon's nice work.

Pain was intense for 24 hours, fairly bad for the next couple of days, but has been diminishing nicely since then. As of today I'm off all pain meds. it hurts if I walk using a normal gait so I do the old folk's shuffle, and there's a lot of tenderness around the base of the scrotum where they did the incision.

I'd be happy to answer any questions about the procedure. Post here or email me directly.

Cheers,

Jeff

Good luck with that, as you continue to recover. Sounds like you are off to a good start, hope it continues.

david in sc

Jeff in PA,

You are starting to feel pretty good. The swelling is going down and you are beginning to feel almost human again Don't Screw It Up! Take it easy!!! The AdVance sling is not anchored to bone. It has to grow into your tissues and that takes time - 6 weeks. Rest. Don't do anything strenuous. Take naps, avoid steps.

Here's a thread for you: Worried Guy's Incontinence Journey. Start reading on page 4 - a couple of days after the surgery. You might find it helpful.

It has been almost 18 months and I love my sling.
Good luck to you.
Jeff in NY

Jeff in PA
At 3 weeks post sling surgery, I was feeling pretty good - no pains, healthy, close to dry. Some kind soul from HW sent me an email from out of the blue warning me not to screw it up. "What you have now is as good as it will get. Don't blow it. Take it easy" Any pulling or stretching you do will make it leak more and it will not get better. I listened.

"Better safe than soggy!" is a great motto!

Jeff in NY

Jonathan, thanks for the links to the useful devices. The Duro-Med Deluxe Sock Aid is my favorite. Hey, one minute you're playing in a rock band, the next you're buying devices to pull up your socks...

Jeff in NY, since you're an analytical and scientific guy, maybe you can answer a question that my surgeon sidestepped. They say you're not supposed to lift anything more than 5 or 10 pounds during the recovery period. OK, that makes sense as a "sound bite" sort of advice. But there must be more to it than that. Every time I walk up a slight incline, sit up in a chair, or get out of bed, I'm lifting my leg, which is probably 35 pounds, and they don't forbid you from doing those things. And on the other hand, if I'm standing erect and I lift a 10 pound grocery bag, that puts no strain at all on the sling.

So clearly the "forbidden movements" are not just a matter of how much weight you lift, but how you stress the sling material. So, do you (or anyone else) know of a more detailed explanation for exactly what the list of stresses are that should be avoided?

Curiously,

Jeff in PA

Jeff,

Thanks for your sling report, I'm hoping to have the procedure done this fall but will have to wait to get my Urodynamics procedure completed and its scheduled for late Aug. I'm in a similar situation as you, 2/3 pads per day, when I read the positive reports on HW it gets me a bit impatient but I can wait if it means I'll finally be dry. Its been 2 years this month that I had my open surgery, still in the zero club and no ED but the incontinence has haunted my full rcovery.

I'll be looking for your updates.

thanks

Ron

Update: two weeks after AdVance sling procedure.

Things are going really well so far and I'm a happy guy. Continence is near 100%, just one minor accident when I forgot I wasn't wearing pads anymore . As predicted by others here at HW, the actual peeing experience has changed somewhat. Right after surgery I had to push to get the flow going, which was actually a nice change from the way things were before. Now the swelling has gone down and the feeling is much closer to the way it was before my prostate surgery. More of an "OK, time to let it go" feeling rather than needing to push. But it's wonderful that I can walk around and do normal things without having that overwhelming need to run to the bathroom.

Pain and discomfort are much better. The really bad pain in my upper legs (where they join the pelvis) is completely gone. The two incisions at the right and left upper scrotum are nicely healed and the stitches are dissolving and coming off in my underwear - imagine my surprise the first time I discovered one of those... The only real remaining discomfort is the big incision at the base of the scrotum. That's still a big knot-like thing and somewhat uncomfortable when I sit, especially in a soft chair. My best friend right now is a U-shaped seat cushion that I picked up at Target.

One observation, for what it's worth. During the 2 years between the prostate surgery and the sling, I could not stay dry for more than a half hour, and I believed that the problem was that my sphincter muscle just wasn't strong enough. Sort of a "sphincter inadequacy complex". Now that the sling surgery has rearranged things inside, however, it seems that the sphincter is perfectly capable of keeping me dry. So I'm thinking that it wasn't a sphincter problem after all, but rather that the prostate surgery left my bladder in a position where it was just putting too much pressure on the sphincter.

Now I just have to remember not to do anything in the next 4 weeks to screw up the surgeon's nice work.

Jeff in PA

Cheers to you. Still, don't over do it, easy it goes.

Had a Da Vinci RRP 7/2/2012. Had Invance Sling in February, didn't work-had to be removed in April. Had the Advance 2 days ago in Baltimore.
Scrotum is really swollen which is normal. Pain in top of both legs but apparently the right obturator was a little more difficult to get the trocar in without traumatizing the muscle. As a result I am pretty much unable to move the hip laterally when lying or sitting. Can't raise the leg from the hip joint either. Left is sore but I can move it. Is this normal anyone? Been reading these posts for a year, decided it was a good opportunity to chime in. Urinating sounds like everyone else's experience. Mostly dry, but swelling is definitely keeping a "thin but long" stream. Any feedback is appreciated. The Invance wasn't as nearly invasive, and in two days I was driving. This might take a little longer.

Hi Jeff1231, congrats on getting the AdVance Sling. I've had mine for just over a year now, and am happy with it. Not perfect, still a little leaking from time to time (no sit-ups for me ever again!), but with the help of some Kegel exercises I've gotten to the point where I can put a small pad in my briefs and I'm good for the whole day, regardless of what I do.

I didn't have the one-sided hip issue that you describe. As I recall, there was a lot of pain for a couple of days, but it seemed pretty even across both sides, and no muscle trauma that I can remember. Hope you recover quickly!

Cheers,

Jeff (one of many)

As I remember, the scrotal swelling went down gradually over a week, more or less. Temporary inconvenience, permanent improvement!