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My Results After A PAE Procedure

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latour1961
latour1961

I had a Prostatic Arterial Embolization (PAE) procedure done at the University of Miami on June 2, 2015 by Dr. Shivank Bhatia. Prior to the procedure I had completely lost my urinary function and was wearing an in dwelling Foley Catheter. I had been told by a prominent Urologist at UM that I would never urinate on my own again, I needed to learn how to self catheterize and that if I chose to have the PAE procedure I should expect it would not be successful. My prostate was over 100 grams, I was not a candidate for the TURP and I should go home and have a nice weekend.

My attitude was I had nothing to lose. If the PAE did not work I was no worse off than if I did not try. Dr. Bhatia was an expert in this procedure so I took a shot. My resutls have been nothing short of miraculous. The procedure was done on 6/2/15. I never had one ounce of pain, either during or after the PAE. I continued to wear the Foley, but it was horrible. I went for my first follow-up 10 days after the PAE. I still could not pee on my own. Dr. Bhatia wanted me to continue wearing the Foley for another week, but I just could not. He was understanding of my discomfort and I was shown how to self catheterize and went home without the Foley, thank God!

I used the catheters approx. every 6 hours or 4 times per day. Each time I used them, I would try to urinate on my own. On June 25th at around midnight I attempted to pee on my own and 6 drops came out. It was a revelation. I then used the catheter and went to bed, arising at 6 am. This time when I went to use the catheter 12 drops came out. Each time I went to use the catheter things would improve. From a weak stream to ultimately a regular pee. I reduced using the catheter from 4 times per day to 3, then 2, then I was comfortable knowing I did not need them at all. On July 1, 2015 I stopped using catheters. I never have looked back. 

Three months post procedure I had an MRI. My prostate had shrunk from 0ver 100 grams to 72 grams. My PSA had gone from 8.7 to 2.5. I no longer had any symptoms that would indicate prostate or urinary issues. I sleep through the night. I pee when I have to go, but can go 6-8 hours in between bathroom breaks. I have no discomfort, no pain, my sex life is outstanding and I am 66 years old! Dr. Bhatia has given me my life back.

My suggestion to anyone who is having symptoms: Explore ALL OF YOUR OPTIONS!! I am certain the PAE will become Standard of Care in the future. Try and understand what the potential side effects are of the "traditional" surgical procedures. They may be acceptable for some, but they were not acceptable for me. I take no drugs or medications. The PAE had no side effects. There was no possibility of becoming incontinent or impotent or having an orgasm without an external  ejaculation. Find a facility that is doing clinical trials with the PAE and a Dr. who is experienced. Peeing through a straw for the rest of my life was a real possibility. Now I function like I was 40 years old, not 66 years old. I highly recommend Dr. Shivank Bhatia of the University of Miam. He learned this procedure from the man who invented it and he trained with him in South America to perfect it. You have very little, if anything to lose, and you have getting the rest of your life back to normal to gain. Happy to answer any questions or inquiries. Good Luck to all.

8 likes, 75 replies

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  • robbiekw
    robbiekw latour1961

    Posted

    hello .. do you have his email and contact info ?

    also... did you use medicare to pay for it ??

    thank you for the info 

    Robbie 

  • alan1951
    alan1951 latour1961

    Posted

    To latour1961:  THANK you!  Your post was EXTREMELY well written and informative.  Unwittingly or otherwise, you've also conferred hope; not only to myself, but others as well.  The only question I have is whether the PAE is still in clinical trials, or has it now become comercially and clinically available.
  • Limn
    Limn latour1961

    Posted

    I also have had significant improvement after PAE done at Stanford as a clinical trial. At 6 months now.  It has just been approved now. I’m curious how you are doing now that it’s been a couple of years after for you.

  • robert80400
    robert80400 latour1961

    Posted

    Thank you for sharing your experience I'm new to this discussion forum. I was wondering how your doing today? I'm researching treatment options for BPH. What I learned So far is some treatment options work better for some than others. Terms such as the "Gold Standard" and a "Game Changer" further complicate what's the right treatment protocol and what's the best evidence based medicine? There is extensive research done on new and old treatment options none to suggest or claim a "ONCE" and done for any BPH treatment protocols. Since there is limited long term benefit regarding Prostate Artery Embolization. I was wondering if you could share your current status associated with your PAE procedure and BPH Symptoms since having your procedure?

    What is your current status?

    1. International Prostate Symptoms Score (I-PSS):
    2. Prostate Size:
    3. Post Void Residual Test (PVR):
    4. Urine Flow Test:

    Thank you again for sharing your post and experience.

    Robert

    • Limn
      Limn robert80400

      Posted

      I HAD MY PAE over a year ago... JUNE 2017

      IT HELPED ME TREMENDOUSLY but im not perfect and ducng expect to be... I am totally off all drugs

      I was addicted to FLOMAX before and took cipro (strong anti biotic at times

      Now i am totally drug free ( HAD TO wean off FLOMAX iver several months about a year ago.

      MY IPSS Score was 23 before the PaE AND IS around 9 - 10 now. I WAS PEEING avg of once/ hr before - Now avg once/2 hrs with times of 4 hrs between. was up avg 3x night before - now usually do NOT get up at night at all.

      Post void residuals still not great -simetimes 90-100 mililiters but had times of 180 mls before the PAE

      prostae overall size is almost meaningless - the important thing is how well the surgeon (radiologist) is able to target the inner areas near the urethra... these are griwths called adenomas and ghey are what grow and press in the urethra. I had NO side effects. IN fact for an unknown reason ALL the 10 patients in the study trial i was inna STANFORD noted an improvement in sexual function.... and ghen after getting off FLOMAX I WAS normal .

      THERE IS NO PAIN during or immediately after the 3 hour procedure because you are given VERSED & FENTYNOL

      BUT A FEW DAYS later many patients like myself have a tough time for a few days dud to the trauma and swelling/ inflamation.

      OVERALL I HIGHLY RECOMMEND PAE .

      but for most it is a great improvement -NOT a cureall.

      What IM LOOKING into niw is to get further improvement with either a 2nd PAE OR a technique callrd "REZUM that uses steam to further kill (ablate) the adenoma growths around the urethra. SO FAR I havent been able to find a dr anywhere within 200 miles that does it tho.

  • Limn
    Limn latour1961

    Posted

    I had the PAE 2 years ago and have had tremendous improvement .

    DONT put off getting something done! REZUME STEAM ablation or urolift are other options. WAITING gradually damages the bladder and kidneys and causes other problems like urinary tract infections. ALSO drugs like flomax have damaging side effects. DO NOT PUT OFF GETTING THE PROBLEM FIXED!!!!

  • Limn
    Limn latour1961

    Posted

    i had the PAE 2 years ago and im still doing well.

    i see yours was done 4 years ago. ARE yoU STILL doing well?

    i sometimes wonder if the body might try to grow new blood flow and make the prostate areas griw again.

    IF SO tho i would have the PAE again.

  • frank27027
    frank27027 latour1961

    Posted

    Hi I was concerned bout the PAE you had that was very sucessfull . Great to hear that. How are you doing now after 3 years.

    THanks for this information.

  • frank27027
    frank27027 latour1961

    Posted

    Hi i just read your report on PAE,4 years ago. How are you doing today? hope is well with you. At my age 90 my Pae was not succesful .After 30 days i started bleeding again. I thought i had a great DR,as he told me my hematuria would stop 97 % sure of that. Well he was wrong. Now i go ahead and get Turp and so far after 3 months i stoped bleeding. They cauterized my blood vessells. Now i have aggressive prostate cancer.AT 90 i thinkk PAE didn't work because of my age.However i can't understand how a 116 gr size prostate after surgery is now 75 gr still very enlarged. Do you understand the reason for this?

    frankj,

  • peter42682
    peter42682 latour1961

    Posted

    Thank you for the post. I'm 66 and facing a decision between PAE and aquablation.

    I'm wondering how you are doing, any regrets or things you would have done differently?

  • marx
    marx latour1961

    Edited

    latour1961 - Thanks for that information. I'm glad you had such good results. I am going to be having a PAE procedure in two days in Sarasota, Florida. My doctor has been doing this procedure for many years. I am really looking forward to having relief from my symptoms, which have been getting worse over the past year. I'm also looking forward to getting off the Avodart and tamsulosin. If anyone is interested, I'll post again after the procedure to let you know how everything went.

  • al86576
    al86576 latour1961

    Posted

    Thank you so much for this report as it is encouraging. I am looking into this procedure .

    is there a limit to the size of the prostate to do this? There is no cancer so i cant see removing the entire inside of the organ unless necessary. Reading the outcomes of SRP surgery is daunting. and no guarantees.

  • michael82549
    michael82549 latour1961

    Posted

    Hope you are still getting great results from PAE. Mine have not been that well, at least not using a catheter. But urinating 3 to 20 seconds with Great burning, razor blade like pain. Has been over 3 months since procedure done. Hope to find out what happened to my situation.

    I am wearing diapers full time; had never done that prior to PAE. Not getting any positive feedback.

  • joseph22922
    joseph22922 latour1961

    Posted

    Is this dicussion still going on ? are you men still optimistic about the Pae procedure?

    I am having one done on 1/6/2023. I have an enlarged middle lobe and was hoping to get some feedback on pae's success rate when a enlarged middle lobe is involved.

    • cali-mike1970
      cali-mike1970 joseph22922

      Posted

      I went back to the PAE thread that has like a ton of pages and if you read that one there are people who did the PAE in 2015/16 who were saying they had middle lobes going into the bladder and they saw good results/outcomes.

      the IR docs do say the PAE can work with middle lobes too and i've been told it will reduce by the same amount as the overall prostate (which reduces from 20-40%).

      my research has me concluding that if my median lobe is grade III (over 10cm) or it's long and tall vs more on a wide base, then I wouldn't do it. there is a research report from china where they said median lobes that are pedunculated (taller than they are wide) are not good candidates for PAE. sometimes after the procedure they can create a worse obstruction. So your IR doc should be able to look at a T3 MRI of the prostate and maybe an ultrasound and tell you the shape of your median lobe into your bladder. If mine were like that, i would opt for aquablation.

      That said, if you read the thread even people with floppy median lobes were seeing good results so who knows.

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