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Catheter post FLA for BPH ?

Posted , 9 users are following.

hank1953
hank1953

"... Because the procedure does not involve accessing the prostate through the urethra, no urinary catheter is needed. Patients typically can go home immediately following the treatment...."

This is what I've read from an article from prostate.net regarding FLA for BPH, Mar 19th 2016. 

Is this statement false ? If I remember correctly, some members on this forum went home with a catheter. Some even had it on for several weeks. 

FLA participants, did you have it on after FLA ? How long did you have it on ? Thanks.

Hank

0 likes, 13 replies

13 Replies

  • Motoman
    Motoman hank1953

    Posted

    It’s false. I think we all went home with a catheter. 

    I was balking at going home with a catheter in, so the Doc took mine out after two days and asked me to pee for him after he filled my Bladder. I could not, so it went back in. It was in for a week, but I had a difficult time peeing the second week. I actually self cathed for a week after the Foley came out, probably twice a day, to make sure I was emptying at least a couple times daily.

  • jim81578
    jim81578 hank1953

    Posted

    Fla is threw the butt not urethra. Catheter for 8 days for most..
  • joe74831
    joe74831 hank1953

    Posted

    Yes 7 days with the Cath after mine. Had trouble peeing the day I took it out, thought I was going to have to self cath, but it got better in its own later that day.
  • Tim-B
    Tim-B hank1953

    Posted

    My FLA is in Dec, but the doctor has told me to expect to keep the foley in for at least a week. Yeah, it's inconvenient but not being able to urinate is MUCH worse wink  

    Motoman - where you self-cath'ing before the procedure?  I have considered picking a few up 'just in case' but have never done that before, so not sure how practical it would be.

    • Motoman
      Motoman Tim-B

      Posted

      Tim,

      I was not self cathing full time prior to the procedure, but did have to do it from time to time. I had retention at times, and this was the only way to urinate at times.  I might have been able to get by without the self cathing after the procedure if I had just stayed home. But I went on a ski trip with other guys, and that was the only way to be sure I could relieve myself without being in a shared bathroom for a long time.

      It is not difficult to do, but I would recommend the coude tips. I was using straight tips before the procedure, and was not able to get these in after the procedure as things had changed.

  • j12080
    j12080 hank1953

    Posted

    Hank, That is totally a false statement.

    Yes the procedure does not go through the Urethra. But the inflammation in the gland from the procedure alone require a catheter for 5 to 7 days. Then upon the removal of the catheter, the urine flow returning to the optimum desired stream is a process of time as the remainder of the swelling in the gland is still going down. My procedure was a year ago and I now understand that the whole FLA process is refined and much better as the doctor I used has learned many things that have improved the whole recovery process.

    Yes, some men have gone up to 3 weeks with a catheter but in those case that  I am aware of, those men had conditions in addition to BPH prior to the FLA and were aware of it of the conditions prior to the FLA. Some came into the procedure wearing a catheter full time because of acute full retention and their Urologist sent the in that way.. Some of them even came into the procedure wear a catheter full time when they arrived because of other reasons. I am not sure is Ross is around but he can speak to this much better than I can.

    Hank, I am not aware of anyone who had FLA and did  not have a catheter post procedure for at least 5 to 7 days. My catheter was not an issue to me. Yes it was in the way but I did not have issue with it as I was scared I would.

     I was however, too over active immediately after the procedure and my advice is to not do that. After 5 days with the catheter I even got in my truck and drove straight home for 6 hours. I then removed my catheter on the next day so I had mine for 6 days. I started urinating about ever hour and the volume was 75 to 100 ml each time that improved consistently for the next 7 days both in time duration between trips to the bathroom and in volume increases.  The recovery seemed slow then at that time but it was actually a good recovery now looking back on it. I was just impatient as usual.

    The guys doing FLA now for a variety of reasons are doing even much better with their recovery than  I did. Maybe they are not going out to eat at a restaurant with their family when they get up and leave the recovery room of the hospital. Or, maybe they are not  going the very next day to tour NASA for 3 hours or not driving themselves  home for 6 hours with the catheter in. What I am pointing out is that I am sure I could have done a much better job as a patient. And at the same time, this procedure has mature a lot in knowledge that has transpired to both a lot better recoveries and better results than I received from my procedure. Please don't take my statement wrong I am vey pleased with my results and would not go back to before FLA even for a double refund on the cost.

    I hope this answered your question or helped you some.

    John

  • j12080
    j12080 hank1953

    Posted

    I forgot to say and must add that one can expect the swelling to subside over time with the results desired arriving in 4 to 5 weeks after the catheter is removed. It seems like the majority of the swelling is gone by then and I felt completely normal as did many years ago. I had not remembered that feeling as I dealt with the BPH for nine years. I also think if I would have had the opportunity to do this when I was younger and not had to wait nine years, I would have been a lot better. The younger men that I have observed in doing this procedure have done even better. But that was not in the options at that time.
  • hank1953
    hank1953

    Posted

    Thanks guys for responding. So it's completely false. I will contact the web site and try to convince them to remove the article. There is a small problem. The article did mention Dr S  name for this procedure and all of us FLA people here were with Dr K. Is it possible Dr S can do it without post catheter ? We'll find out.

    Hank

    • j12080
      j12080 hank1953

      Posted

      Hank, I am sure you already know this as I have posted it before but I did visit all the Interventional Radiologist who did FLA at the time of my decision.

      I was also told by the office you are speaking of that they would do the procedure without a catheter and that was the normal procedure for them. As you might imagine that really got my attention. So, my wife and I mounted up and went to Florida for a consultation and to see the operation first hand. In that meeting, the catheter part of the story chanced right before my eyes. It was quite troubling as I had spent a lot of money traveling all over the US meeting the FLA and PAE doctors and many Urologist who offered a variety of treatments for BPH. 

      Having the story gracefully changed in that meeting about the catheter was a very big red flag to me since that was one of the two reasons I was most interested in this provider and went to meet with them. The other reason was I was told that this doctor had done over 100 FLA procedures for BPH and thousands of the FLA procedures for Prostate Cancer at that time.

      Having the catheter story change right before my eyes I then said “if you have done over 100 of these I am sure you can give me 5 references to speak with and I do realize you will not give me any bad ones but I still want to talk to a few humans that have actually gone through this”. Their answer to me was “SURE, no problem Lillian will get that for you right away”. Over the course of the next 5 months, I tried many times in follow-up to get the list of men who had done FLA for BPH. Finally in the fourth month they gave me 5 men who had done the FLA for Cancer but could not or would not give me a list from the 100 men they claimed did the procedure for BPH. During that time, they also informed me that they raised their price another $5,000 for their services. I continued for another month to get the correct list and finally they stopped taking my phone calls at all.

       I did speak with the five men they gave me about FLA for cancer. 1) every one of them were successful in their treatments. 2) every one of them said the treatment also made their BPH better. 3) every one of them did have a catheter when they left the doctor’s office.  None of them knew of anyone doing the FLA for strictly BPH and not cancer. Naturally, I decided to go a different direction with my provider decision.

      You can draw your own conclusions. That is a true account of my experience. And, I cannot imagine FLA being done without a catheter being used until the gland swelling goes down some. Though I will say that Dr. K is now using more and better anti-inflammatory drugs right before, during and after the FLA. I did not have those.  

    • hank1953
      hank1953 j12080

      Posted

      Thanks John. I sent them an email and asked for a correction on the article. We'll see. Hank

  • uncklefester
    uncklefester hank1953

    Posted

    I'm betting you got that from Sperling's website. Sound Like BS to me. I contacted him a couple of times he never got back to me

    • hank1953
      hank1953 uncklefester

      Posted

      I don't think it is a Sperling web site. They probably got the info from Sperling. Whatever, it's false advertisement. Hank

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