Posted 1/21/2013 10:17 PM (GMT 0)
Hi,
When I had my prostatectomy (DaVinci), I did not even have to take anything to clear out my digestive tract prior to the surgery. The doctor said the incidence of accidentally nicking the bowel during the surgery (the prostate & bowel are next door neighbors) is very rare & it was not worth the hassle of clearing oneself out before the surgery.
Generally speaking, the only thing a patient usually experiences after a prostatectomy is waiting a couple days after surgery for the bowels to reawaken. With me, it was only two days -- and they gave me some stool softener to take (orally), which worked fine. My first bowel movement was no trouble at all and everything went fine from there.
At the other end, I really did not need pads much beyond the first month or perhaps 5-6 weeks post-surgery. I probably still wore them for a while (can't recall completely), but discovered that I really did not need them. I'm now 14 months post-surgery and have been 100% continent since those earlier days. I also typically will sleep 5-7 hours without having to get up and use the restroom.
Sexually I seem to be just "waking up" at this point. The individual patient's outcome in this department is dependent on whatever his individual sexual ability was prior to the surgery. The general rule of thumb is that the post-op ability will NOT be at the same level as before.
All in all, I found the surgery to be virtually completely pain free, the catheter also was pain free (aside from some irritation that was dealt with with a gel), did not hurt when removed a week later.
Now, also understand that every case and every person is different, nobody's individual case can be set in stone when trying to predict how your own situation might be. However, most DaVinci (and even open) patients seem to agree that it was pretty much a pain-free experience.
So you should go into your surgery with great hope and plan on a complete recovery no matter how long it takes.
After all this typing, I forgot if you gave us your stats. If not, can you give us your past and current PSAs, Gleason score, number of positive cores & percentages, staging, etc.?
If so, we can give you greater insight.
Good luck!
Chuck
July 2011 local PSA lab reading 6.41 (from 4.1 in 2009). Mayo Clinic PSA Sept. 2011 was 5.7.
Local urologist DRE revealed significant BPH, but no lumps.
PCa Dx Aug. 2011 at age of 61.
Biopsy revealed adenocarcinoma in 3 of 20 cores (one 5%, two 20%). T2C.
Gleason score 3+3=6.
CT of abdomen, bone scan both negative.
DaVinci prostatectomy 11/1/11 at Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN), nerve sparing, age 62.
My surgeon was Dr. Matthew Tollefson, who I highly recommend.
Final pathology shows tumor confined to prostate.
5 lymph nodes, seminal vesicles, extraprostatic soft tissue all negative.
1.0 x 0.6 x 0.6 cm mass involving right posterior inferior,
right posterior apex & left mid posterior prostate. Right
posterior apex margin involved by tumor over a 0.2 cm length, doctor says this is insignificant.
Prostate 98.3 grams, tumor 2 grams. Prostate size 5.0 x 4.7 x 4.5 cm.
Catheter out in 7 days. No incontinence, occasional minor dripping.
First post-op exam 2/13/12, PSA <0.1.
Semi-erections now happening 14 months post-op & getting stronger.