Another successful HoLEP procedure in Cambridge UK on Wednesday

Posted , 10 users are following.

I would just like to add another success story to that of Ifr33 at the beginning of this month (HoLEP Big Success two weeks on…). I had my HoLEP procedure carried out two days ago by Mr Tev Aho in Cambridge. After 15 years with a rising PSA (5.5 creeping up to 23) and three biopsies (all clear), a new doctor finally diagnosed BPH and put me on Tamsulosin last November but by then, I was also suffering from bladder spasms and life was getting miserable with an IPSS score of 28/35.

Looking at Patient.Info I was able to compare the many experiences shared and decided on HoLEP. It was also clear that experience in doing the procedure was a key facture for success and as it was not offered locally on the NHS and my not wishing to put up with my quality of life anymore I decided to go privately.

The Cambridge Urology Partnership seemed to have the most experience and Mr Aho in particular has carried out many hundreds of these operations over the past few years. I was one of three he performed on Wednesday, to be followed by another eight patients on Saturday!

I was in the Spire hospital Cambridge Lee for just over 24 hours, coming out (and walking back to the nearby hotel) Thursday afternoon with no pain whatsoever (excluding the removal of the catheter that morning!). It took a bit of time for my bladder to get going again but that seems ok now. Today we spent over three hours on trains from Cambridge, across London on the tube and down to the South Coast where we live with no pain, no spasms, and no urge for the toilet the whole way. I have antibiotics and anti inflammation tablets to be taken and optional pain relief which I now won’t bother with as I don’t seem to need it.

Everyone’s case is different but I can thoroughly recommend the HoLEP approach and Mr Aho and his team in particular.

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  • Posted

    Roger I am happy that it worked out for you. But was that the only procedure that they offered you.  I would never have any one cut or laser anything away from my prostate.  The side effects are not anything I was looking for.  If you can deal with the dry orgasms that you will have they more power to you.  At 60 in a few weeks I still enjoy sex but I still like to have a return.  Was on pills for months that did that to me.  Why do it if no return.  Eveyone has a choice with there body and we pick whatever procedure we have to go through and deal with the side effects.  I hope no one talked you into it.  I had a urolift 8 weeks ago and all is great all over.  I hope everything kepts going well for you Good health..Ken
    • Posted

      Hi Ken, many thanks for your words of encouragement. Nobody offered me any procedures (other  than another biopsy in 2013). I had been on Tamsulosin for 6 months and it wasn't doing anything for my bladder cramps and I was becoming fixated on being near a toilet!

      It was this website (Patient.info) where all sorts of different procedures were being discussed by patients and not doctors, that gave me the information I needed to make my own mind up as to what had to happen next. After that, a series of searches via google came up with the Cambridge Urology Group and their HoLEP approach. I do agree with you that everyone has to come to their own decision as to what to do next and I did watchful waiting for 15 years including dietary restrictions before I took the plunge. I am now very happy with the outcome and am looking forward to getting my freedom (from toilets) back again. I'm glad your urolift has worked out well and hope it stays that way. Good health... Roger

    • Posted

      No one gets encouragement from Ken:-)

      You chose the best of the Laser procedures and there is a very good chance that you will not have retro and all the rest will take you back to a normal life.. I was quite happy with my two laser procedures (PVP and Holmium) but my prostate soon regrew between procedures and possibly is again.

      Better to have the tissue taken away than put in a straight jacket.To me Urolift is like sweeping the problem under the carpet but only time will tell.

    • Posted

      Roger As kong as your happy with the procedure that skk that matters  Take cre and enjoy life..Ken
    • Posted

      Boy your something.  Not all all procedures work the same way on everyone.  What you had worked for you that is your choice.  The procedure I picked worked for me.   We all have a choice.  Some docotrs talk men into procedures and are not aware of the outcome.  Roger did his research and picked what he was going to do.  I am happy that it worked out good for him.. I have my opinion if you don't agree tough....... Ken   
    • Posted

      Your biased opinions do no good to others on a Forum where we try to help each other based on our experiences not 'biased on'. If you were ever in the Army was everyone out of step apart from you?   

      Arguements are frowned on by the Moderator so I must restrain myself in the things I say about your continual negative postings on urologists and every laser or surgical procedure.

    • Posted

      Derek we all have the right to voice our opinion.  That is the way life is.  Personnely I would not have a turp or a laser for my proplem.  If I had cancer I may have a diffrent opinion. Anything to safe your life.  That is why we have so many new procedure being developed because men are asking for new things.  I just what men to make the right choice for them no matter what it is.  You have read on here and so have I that some doctor don't tell them all they should know and many men just take the doctors word without doing any research.  They when something happen they blame doctor.  Information is the key good or bad....     
    • Posted

      I did my first research in 1995 and refused a 'Bloody TURP' and watchfully waited while other new and novel procedures came and went. I had contact with an American urologist who advised me of what was in the pipeline and to wait. I followed a BPH News Group and read thousands of postings with peoples experiences. When PVP came along it was soon the flavour of the month with your countrymen flocking to the new practitioners in Florida and NYC.

      I had to wait for it to slowly cross the Atlantic and be derided by the Gold Standard Brigade and fight to be referred to an NHS hospital in another part of the country who were doing it. They eventually dropped TURP completely for PVP and its later version. Now they have dropped that on a split decision in favour of HoLep. 

    • Posted

      I am very happy for you. I wish there were more men like you  that took the same road and research the procedures.  Started researching the prostate in 2002 when I was told I had cancer. He told me I had to have it out  I was 47 at that time.  I told the urologist at the time no.  He was going only on my PSA at the time.  I went to see his parter and told him what was going on.  He did a 7 needle biopsy  It came back no cancer.  I have all ways look things up and they made my choice.  In 5 years there maybe something new to improve a man life. Good health  Ken       
    • Posted

      I have refused several medical/surgical treatments that I have not agreed with.

      Actually I trust surgeons a lot more than doctors who dispense pills they do not understand the consequences of.

      With the NHS you need to be well informed to get the best treatment available. I had an appointment with a neurologist the other week. He asked for my symptoms and when I had finished he asked if I was a retired doctor.  I said No and he said that I had presented them so preciely with all the correct terms that he had assumed that I must be.

    • Posted

      That is good. You are prepared .  I trust all my doctors.  I have had my heart dr for 15 years my GP for 5 years and my erologist a years. He's not knife happy.  He found a stricture in the urethra before my prostate got bigger.  Was on many pills to see if it would help but the side effect  I did not care for.  With the prostate being inlarged and the stricture I had to forced myself to pee had to go through both Icould never empty my bladder Had 5 bladder infection last year and one was so bad that I had sepsis. Was on IV's for 20 days.  That why I had the urolift to get the prostate away from the urethra.  Now I only have to go through the stricture.  Much easier.  I know One day I will have to have that removed.  I have been researching that procedure so I's ready for it.  I hope all goes well for you  Good health  Ken   
  • Posted

    We would be very interested in hearing your experiences as you continue your recovery. In particular, I'm interested in hearing about if you have leaking, retrograde ejaculation, or impotence.

    Good luck,

    Neal

    • Posted

      Are you in America? It always seems to be Americans for some reason who have trouble with leaking and wearing diapers. I never seem to hear of that here.

      Impotence was associated with total prostatectomy and the older versions of TURP but seldom with the new procedures.  Many people needing prostate surgery are probably already on the verge of impotency as an early symptom of heart disease or diabetes.  

    • Posted

      Hi Neal,

      4 days after the operation I am off the pain killers (never had any pain post op), peeing ok (if a little gingerly!), Continence is not a problem but I still have some pink spots and will wear a pad until they dissappear. I feel perfectly fine and can't believe I had a general and operation last Wednesday. 

      I feel I have regained a freedom (from toilets) and it is wonderful to be able to drink what I want, when I want and not have to worry where the nearest toilet is. The only thing I am having to get used to is not having my bladder constantly remind me it is full. I now have to really think about whether a pee might be a good idea - but I feel that is more psychological than anything else.

      I don't beleive I am quite ready to test out the last two items on your list yet but I will let you know when I have.

      Roger

    • Posted

      A brave or Randy friend of mine tried out the last two sucessfully on day six.

      I woke with an erection on day two but waited till about day ten.  

    • Posted

      Yes, I am in America.

      I know that these side effects happen sometimes, and I am interested in Roger's experience. It is my understanding that the retrograde ejaculation is very common. Also, it is my understanding that leakage is common, at least for some time, and that it is frequently necessary to wear a catheter for an extended period. The two could, of course, be related.

      As to impotence, that is not a problem for me, as I have a penile implant - the best thing I have ever had done. I know that this forum is about prostate problems, but I would be happy to discuss penile implants, if someone wants to contact me. That said, it will be instructive to all to read Roger's experiences in this area too, when he is ready.

      Neal

    • Posted

      Thanks for your reply. I'm looking forward to reading about the last two when you are ready.

      Neal

    • Posted

      I think that most are on the way to retro prior to the procedure due to Tamsulosin and other drugs. I did not take them prior to my PVP and had no problems but I did take Tamsulosin for several months and Finasteride for a lesser time before my Holmium laser one.   
    • Posted

      When I was on Finasteride, after a month or two, it became almost impossible to reach organism. It's awful stuff. So, are we to assume that you had a holep, and have no retro?
    • Posted

      Finasteride made me start growing breasts but not hair.

      No retro after PVP in 2005. In 2013 I had Holmium Laser not HoLep.

      Ejaculate had been much reduced by Tamsulosin (it also affected my eyes) and stopped after the procedure. 

      UK urologists now tend to offer Avodart after surgery to prevent regrowth. I turned that down as it has the same side effects as Finasteride.

    • Posted

      Yes, I also started growing breasts on Finasteride. Awful. Thanks for the info. I wonder if PAE prevents regrowth. Logically I expect that it would, but I'll bet it hasn't been around long enough to do a retrospective study. Has anyone any info on this?

      Thanks again ,

      Neal

    • Posted

      Derek, when you say you had Holmium Laser not HoLEP, my documentation says HoLEP = Holmium Laser Enucleation of the Prostate so I wonder if you had the same op but under a different name?

      At the pre-op meeting with Mr Aho, he indicated that it was at least 75% certain there would be retro because of the difference in pressure between going forward into the urethra and going backwards into the now empty prostate and bladder. 

      He also said that it would be unlikely ('though not impossible) that I would need a catheter to leave the hospital. In reality It took about 7 hours after removing the initial catheter before my bladder sputtered into life. They insisted I had three pees, measuring the bladder residual each time to ensure that I was not going into retention before they would release me.

      It turned out that I had had bladder stones as well (a shingle beach of them according to Mr Aho) all little cubes about 3mm on a side. He took out 50 plus and I had to pee out the last 11! Through a very sore urethra - no fun.

      At day 6 I am now peeing with a good stream, still getting used to not having to worry about where the toilet is.

      Am now down to taking just the antibiotic, having finished the anti-inflamation last evening.

    • Posted

      My left breast is still bigger than the right one after about two and a half years and each nipple tends to itch. My doctor gave me Alphaderm cream that helps after a weeks use but it returns soon after I stop using it.

      I would assume that PAE must stop regrowth.

      If my NHS link can pass the Moderator it is the best write up I have read so far on the very limited use of the procedure. There is no point of Mr Average getting interested at the present time a availabilty is so restricted and probably remain so for years to come.

      http://www.uhs.nhs.uk/OurServices/Radiology-scansandimaging/PatientInformation/Prostatearteryembolisation.aspx

       

    • Posted

      Holmium Laser has been around in several forms for a long time.

      When PVP arrived in the UK around 2004 I contacted the makers Rep to find out where it was being done. I was living in Scotland at the time and the nearest hospital doing it was over the border In Newcastle. The NHS urologist was very reluctant to send me there due to the cost of it and the fact that he could not see past TURP.

      He then told me that a hospital in Dundee, Scotland was doing it but when speaking to the urologist there he was doing Holmium laser and it seemed a very rough and ready method compared to the precision of PVP. At the same time several hospitals were doing the Gyrus Laser procedure. The only one doing it in Scotland had a twelve month waiting list.

      Eventually in June 2005 I had the PVP. When my prostate regrew and now living in England I again ran into urologists at my local hospital who only did TURP. One day I saw a Locum who said that a kidney surgeon at the hospital had been doing Thulium Laser prostate surgery for years but his urology colleagues kept quiet  about it!

      I saw him and he agreed to do it. I watched him do a Thulium laser procedure for German urologists on YouTube. I had the procedure and was happy enough with it apart from as with PVP that my flow was not as great as expected and that I got an infection when the catheter was left in for too long.

      Still not happy with my variable flow I went back for tests this year with no reason found for it. When I said Thulium Laser to the urology nurse she said that I had Holmium laser. So, who knows what happens when you are asleep.  I think that mine was a pre HoLep version of Holmium.

      The hospital where I had my PVP in 2005 now only do HoLep.  

    • Posted

      Hi Derek,

      Thanks for the update and the link. It took a month or two for my breasts to return to "normal". The link was very interesting. I'm glad that the moderators used some common sense and let the link pass. It is very useful.

      Neal

    • Posted

      My wfe was threatening to buy me a training bra.
    • Posted

      I have often wondered what a training bra is supposed to train someone to do anyway. I'm glad you won't find out.

      Neal

    • Posted

      Seems that quite a few drugs can cause gynecomastia and I've just been prescribed a calcium channel blocker:

      Anti-androgens used to treat prostate enlargement, prostate cancer and some other conditions. Examples include flutamide, finasteride (Proscar, Propecia) and spironolactone (Aldactone).

      Anabolic steroids and androgens.

      AIDS medications. Gynecomastia can develop in HIV-positive men who are receiving a treatment regimen called highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Efavirenz (Sustiva) is more commonly associated with gynecomastia than are other HIV medications.

      Anti-anxiety medications, such as diazepam (Valium).

      Tricyclic antidepressants.

      Antibiotics.

      Ulcer medications, such as cimetidine (Tagamet).

      Cancer treatment (chemotherapy).

      Heart medications, such as digoxin (Lanoxin) and calcium channel blockers.

    • Posted

      This is good information to have. Thanks for sending it. Are you a pharmacist?

      Neal

    • Posted

      It has now been a week since my HoLEP operation and I thought I would give a brief update.

      Never had any pain and gave up the pain killers after three days (CoCodemol gave me constipation).

      Finished the anti inflamation after four

      On my last day of antibiotics today

      No spasms whatsoever (I decide when I want to pee and this is really big news for me!)

      Back to normal activities except no heavy lifting

      The slight bleeding had settled down (spots on pads) but now the lack of Tamsulosine is kicking in and I am waking up with involuntary erections which are way stronger than whilst on Tamsulosine. They seem to be either squeezing a reddish discharge out of the reproductive system, or are streching the urethra causing a slight bleeding.

      The erections are not at all painful but peeing afterwards feels a bit delicate. Once the streem has started there is no pain at all and no further red discharge.

      So to respond to your question so far: No urinary leaking, no impotence but not ready for the RE test yet!

      Roger

    • Posted

      A urology nurse told me that the blood usually comes from the urethra as with the trauma of the procedure that it swells up like a sponge absorbing blood. 
    • Posted

      No, i'm a Googler:-)

      Everyhing we need to know is out there.The other week at a neurology appointment the consultant asked me if I was a retired doctor as I presented my symptons so well and with all the technical terms and asked him the right questions.

      I check on everything that I am given. I have in the past found prescribing errors that were causing me problems by thinning my blood too much. Actually this week I was given a prescription for a modified release capsule that works over twelve hours to take once a day instead of the sustained release version that works over twenty four hours. 

       

    • Posted

      That is all good news. It seems like the only remaining possible hurtles are sexual, e.g. impotence and retrograde ejaculation. When you are ready, it will be instructive to hear how those go.

      Thank you so much for supplying this information. I am gaining respect for the HoLEP.

      Neal

    • Posted

      It sounds like you do a good job.

      I am allergic to Sulpha drugs. I now read ALL prescriber information on all meds after an idiot doctor gave me a sulpha derivative even though my allergy was clearly indicated on the records in his hand. I spent 3 days throwing up, in hospital, on an IV. You have to be your own advocate, or they'll kill you.

    • Posted

      I hope your better now.  We have to look up everything that a doctor is going to do and give us before we take or do anything.  Information is the key.  Derek is very well informed and knows alot.  He also has been through alot...the internet is there for you  Take care  Ken  
    • Posted

      How about this? I found another probable medical error twelve days ago and am still deciding on my next move.

      I had been in AF for the third time after two previous cardioversions failed and a seven day ECG monitor also diagnosed tachy bradycardia with 3 second pauses in my heart rate. I was phoned by someone from cardiology at the end of May and told that I needed a dual chamber pacemaker as a matter of some urgency.

      I then had a pre assessment appointment with a nurse and later a young doctor who each said dual chamber pacemaker. I’m not sure if the consent form I signed said that as well.

      Come the day the pacemaker was being fitted. The doctor doing the procedure was a different consultant from the one I had been told would probably be doing it. I asked if I was getting an MRI compatible one as I had told them that I need a future MRI scan for a back problem. He said that he did not know but would check and went over to where the equipment was set out and returned with the good news that it would be.

      The procedure seemed to go OK and in the evening a technician came to set up the pacemaker, explain it, give me a card to carry at all times and give me an appointment for the pacemaker clinic in eight weeks. I looked at my card to find that I had been fitted with a single chamber model. He of course did not know why I not been given a dual chamber model. He said since being fitted I had 13 pauses in my heart rate that had caused the pacemaker to kick in. I developed a pneumothorax and did not get home for a couple of days as my chest had to be drained.

      The consultant who had been supposed to fit my pacemaker came round with his team on ward rounds the next morning. After discussing my pneumothorax problem I asked why I not been fitted with the expected dual chamber pacemaker. That was a conversation killer as he had had obviously not know about it. The rest of his group stood open mouthed shuffling their feet with nothing to say. He could only say that it must have been a decision made after the pre assessment.

      When he came round again the next morning I pointed out that my heart rate was now around 30% higher that it had been in recent weeks with a resting rate of 100 bpm. He asked if my AF was usually a problem to me. I said that the only times in the past that I had been aware of it was when initially noticing the heart rate increase when suddenly going in to AF or sometimes if laying on my left side. The consultant said that he would leave it for six months before seeing me and by that time would know if the single chamber pacemaker was doing its job.

      When I spoke to my GP this week he was surprised as he had expected I would get a dual chamber one.

      You don't happen to be a lawyer??

       

    • Posted

      I think someone made a mistake in the hospital and the doctor just covered it up with what he said about the pre assessment.  You should have been told that not after.  Hope it works out for you  Ken
    • Posted

      They are very good at changing records after the event. I am surprised that my GP had not had a letter advising him of the procedure I would have. Very unusual that he did not.
    • Posted

      It is easier to put a pacemaker in than to replace one. Also it restricts ones arm movement for six weelks.
    • Posted

      I go to my urologist on August 11. He's going to answer some guestions  I read a summary of the procedure when I had the urolift done there are things in it that he did the he did not tell me.  I had 2 procdures done on the same day.  There is something about stones and he did a dilation of the urethra. Also it said that I have 2 strictures.  I only know of one.   Now I know why I bleed so much after the urolift.  He knows I don't like surprises.  A friend of mine had a pace maker put in.  Her heart rate was 42.  It's work great now and she has alot more energy.  Take care  Ken   
    • Posted

      My heart rate was often in the 40's and sometimes down to 34. For years I had complained of my heart rate being slow, slow, quick, quick, pause, slow but ECG's did not pick it up.

      Are you going to record your meeting with your urologist for us??

      The patient before me had a pre assessment for a hip replacement and was found to have a heart rate in the 20's without feeling unwell. 

    • Posted

      I will let you know what happen.  I go to my heart doctor next week to see whats going on.  Had some test done. Got the ones back from my GP but he did not explain them. I have plaque on both sides of my neck.  He did not say anything.  I'm going to talk it to my heart doctor so he can explain it. Been with him 15 years.  Had 2 mini stokes and I would like to fine out whats going on before I have a major one. Sometimes you just get the run around. 
    • Posted

      Unfortunately, I am neither a lawyer nor a physician, but it is clear that you need both. I have always had the greatest respect for the British health care system, particularly when compared to the American system, especially before Obamacare; but it is obvious that they seem to be out to kill you. That and the other stories I read here give me pause. Is there a cardiac blog that could be helpful to you? I guess your consultant will decide in 6 months if the device is working properly by if you are still alive, and show up. Is there no way to see someone else? Surely there must be a way to deal with incompetent individuals who are in the health care system. I know that we have them, and you do too. Again, you must be your own advocate.

      Neal

    • Posted

      My American friends all fear Obamacare.

      Here they have been trying to kill me for years:-)

      When I was diagnosed with aortic stenosis in March 2011 at a major London hospital it was deemed more convenient for me to be treated locally rather than travel back and forward to London and I had plenty of time as it would take about two years for it to kill me. Appointments between tests were 8, 17 and 10 weeks before being referred to another hospital for surgery that I was told would happen in 8/10 weeks. After a month I checked with the other hospital and they had no record of me.

      I was then told that the one referring me was a bit behind with his paperwork. Well he would be as he had gone on a months holiday.

      Eventually an appointment with the surgeon but then a supposed twelve week wait for surgery stretched out to just over five months..    

      It was the surgery that initially put me into AF as happens to about a third of heart surgery patients.

    • Posted

      Your story is scary in so many ways. It sounds like it was written by Heller, Catch 22, or Kafka.
    • Posted

      Unfortunately it is typical.

      Did you notice in one of my posts that the urologists at my local hospital are so against anything but TURP that that they did not tell me that one of their colleagues a renal surgeon was also doing Holmium laser surgery. I found that out when seeing a Locum who was not part of their secret society. They had also told me that my prostate had regrown after PVP but would not have done so if I had a TURP. 

    • Posted

      Derek I seam to remember reading on of the post I think it ws a man in the UK The doctor told him that he needing a turp and when he questioned the doctor.  The doctor told him that it or leave it.  Some doctors told what to learn new things..That why we have to get the information for ourself...Ken
    • Posted

      I might have gone along with a TURP in 1995 but for a series of articles by a journalist in one of the quality papers who had BPH and did an investigation into treatments available and to untold dangers of TURP.

      I quoted it to the urologist I was seeing who was unaware of the articles and he asked me for copies of them. 

      I kept them for years until I had my PVP and now regret disposing of them although a lot of modifications to TURP including not using Glycine.

      The Wiki article on TURP syndrome is quite frightening.

    • Posted

      Derek,

      according to my research prior to my HoLEP, the "new Turps" is called TURPiS or TURP in Saline (rather than Glycine), and uses two electrodes rather than one as was the case with TURP. This avoids TURP Syndrome as it avoids the Glycine which sounds quite nasty!

      Looking at Addenbrookes NHS Hospital website they have a very good series of leaflets on various urological procedures which can be downloaded. I found the one on HoLEP to be very informative and have included the link here. http://www.cuh.org.uk/sites/default/files/publications/PIN1658_Holmium_laser_enucleation_of_the_prostate_%28HoLEP%29_V6.pdf  ; (I hope).

      Roger

    • Posted

      Thanks for that. I know of the new TURPs. My local hospital do one but it is still quite bloody with longer recovery compared to laser procedures. The only two I know who had it had to go back for further treatment and one is now basically incontinent needing to go once an hour limiting his travel arrangements.

      I remember the GP I had in 1994 who with a shudder said "TURP, no way, too Bloody" He really impressed me on my first visit to him when I went with lower back pain and he said that it might be coming from my prostate and promtply did a DRE and told me that I had an enlarged prostate

      Actually I was not surprised as about twelve years before I had a cystoscopy done by the well named Miss Waterfall who said then that my prostate was slightly enlarged and that I should keep an eye on it. I always wndered how to do that:-)

      PVP destroys all the postate tissue but Holmium laser only vapourises some of it leaving tissue that can be checked for cancer cells. Does HoLep do the same?

      He was left with 36 grams after my procedure that he said would take the lab weeks to check.

    • Posted

      Acording to Mr Aho, the HoLEP procedure, slices the inner prostate up which is then pushed into the bladder for recovery by a different tool. The slices are then sent off for analysis (should take another two weeks).

      There has certainly been no blood as far as I can tell, other than immediately after the operation. I have also been pain free since the operation day. I have a slight pinkish discharge sometimes (especialy if I have been sitting for too long) but the urine stream is perfectly clear. The auto-erections I have had the last couple of nights seem to sqeeze more of this pinkish fluid out.

      Also, I now sleep all night without going to the toilet! This was never a major problem for me as I was only going twice a night before the operation but it is another change that has taken place.

    • Posted

      Hi Neal,

      14 days after the HoLEP operation I thought I would give a little update following that 4 days after the op. 

      I've been free of any medication for 7 days now after finishing the last antibiotic. No painkillers for the past 11 days. I feel in total control of my bladder, going when I want (so different from before when it was ruling me! Still a few spots of pink on pads so won't stop those until they are completely clear but the situation seems to be progressing quite nicely. No leaks (or if there are any they are too small to matter). Auto erections at about 3am in the morning seem to be the current thing - much stronger thean whilst on Tamsulosine (so impotence doesn't seem to be a problem). You were interested in hearing about ejactualtion but not sure I'm ready for that yet. Will report back in another fortnight.

      I would recommend the procedure to anybody.

      Kind regards

      Roger

    • Posted

      Hi Neal,

      Here we are 4 weeks post the HoLEP operation and just thought I would give an update. Bladder control is just perfect - I can go for hours without peeing, and none of the spasms I was having before. Stream is really strong and I don't wet my shoes anymore! Regarding leakages, I don't have to wear pads or anything so that end works perfectly. Erections OK, but RE seems to be a fact of life. I have to say that I would rather be in my current state of perfect bladder control and RE than not have RE but also have to stay close to a toilet all day, every day!

      Next update after the review with Mr Aho  October 21st.

      This was certainly the best investment I have ever made (paying privately to get the best operation, done where and when I wanted).

      Roger

    • Posted

      Hi Roger,

      I am starting the process for Holep, a few initial questions:

      1. Which hospital in the UK did you use, how was the experience

      2. I am in Canada, was there a waiting period after the initial consultation with Dr. Aho, and the post-surgery consultation

      3. Was it general or spinal anesthetic 

      Would very appreciate the feedback, thanks

    • Posted

      Hi Martin,

      It's now 14 months after the operation and the peeing end is still wonderful. No getting up at night, and can drink anything anytime without spasm. The only minor issue has been a small stricture or scarring in the urethra meaning it takes me longer to pee than it should (because of reduced flow). This is being addressed via a small operation.

      Onto your queries.

      1 - I used the Spire Cambridge, simply because that is where Mr Aho was, when I needed the operation, great (private) hospital, very attentive nurses and good food.

      2 - I had a couple of weeks between the pre-op consultation and the op but this could be adjusted by working with Mr Aho's private secretary who arranges his diary (to make your pre-op the day before the real op). The Post op consultation was supposed to be three months afterwards but because I was feeling fine and Mr Aho was off somewhere else, it didn't end up getting done for seven months (and I could have had it done by anybody locally if I had wanted to). The post-up check was just a flow-rate check, where my stricture was discovered.

      3 - It was a general anesthetic. I came into hospital at 7.30 in the morning ((Marriot hotel is within walking distance), Op was started around 8.45, I was in the recovery suite by 10.00 and back in the ward for lunch. The catheter was taken out at 6AM the following morning and I was told I could go back to the hotel as soon as I had peed three times (to check my bladder was working). This took till around 2pm when I was free to leave (with a couple of codeine painkillers). I can't say I was in any real pain, I had no leakage to speak of, and little if any bleeding. I traveled back to the South Coast the day after (150 miles by train including across London on the tube). By the end of the following week, I was pain-free, leak free and blood in the urine free so a complete success!

      I hope that this helps

      Roger

    • Posted

      Hi Roger,

      Thank you kindly, for your very prompt and informative reply. I have seen mentioned here, that in some instances, a partial urethrotemy is done to accomodate the instruments, what exactly is this, what was your experience, and is this related in any way to the stricture you mentioned.

      Also, did you need to have any tests done at the Impington hospital prior to the surgery ?

      Appreciate getting your perspective.

    • Posted

      Roger I know this was 2 year ago, just wanted to see if you were going strong .

      Are you still doing OK today?

      Paul scheduled for HOLEP next week

    • Posted

      Ken

      What is meant by bacteria in urine after urolif lm on sulfur antibiotics

    • Posted

      Paul  What are you asking. I had the Urolift but no bacteria in urine.  You can get a infection after any procedure ken

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