PAE

yes sent a copy of my recent PROSTATE MRI to dr bagla and he is going to call after he reviews it. most all i've heard about DR Bagla is good he's just far away.

Have you talked to Dr. Bagla?My guess is he wants to schedule you , not for consultation...but the actual procedure? My wife says this is why he has done more than anyone in the country! I still don't know if this is good or bad.

I just sent in copy of my MRI on Thursday then received patient questionaire on Friday and just sent it in yesterday. Probably won't hear from him for a while yet. I have heard a lot of good about Bagla on this forum and only one bad comment I can recall. Can't remember who said it, but apparently there was some question as to whether this individual was good candidate for PAE. Bagla went ahead and did the procedure and the results were not good. It's my understanding from other comments on here that Bagla is probably number one or at least at the top of the list of experts in the U.S. Practice makes perfect. Would love to use the IR I found at UCI medical center which is very close to home but just don't know what his experience level is. If Med Lift does not pan out I may go see the guy at UCI before I make the trek to Virginia.

Below is a post I just read about PAE by Dr. Bagla.

I appreciate some of the detailed threads on this site about the PAE procedure - and after reading them, that became the deciding factor in me choosing to go with a PAE procedure rather than Holep laser. It seemed like the PAE was so much easier and less invasive...why not try it first, right?

I'm fortunate that I live fairly close (about 2 hours away) from Dr. Sandeep Bagla, one of the top IR guys in the country for this procedure (if not THE top guy). I can tell you first hand that Dr. Bagla is a first class doctor and all around nice guy as well. Very professional, courteous, answers all your questions, and just gives off that vibe like you know everything's going to be fine if this guy does my procedure. After driving down to meet him in person and do the initial consult at his office, I left there thinking - YES, this is the procedure that I'm going to have.

My urologist in Winchester, VA is actually a very good guy (doesn't do any in-hospital procedures himself, only does in-office procedures) and when I asked him about the PAE, he knew about them and had read about the procedure, and thought I'd be an excellent candidate. He encouraged me to go foward with it.

There was some difficulty getting my insurer to pay (they initially denied the pre-authorization) so Dr. Bagla had to do some follow ups with the insurance company doctors in order to get them to pay for the procedure.

Dr. Bagla and his team at Vascular Institute of Virginia is just top notch. There's no other way to describe them. Very friendly, easy to work with, and very professional. There wasn't one minute that I didn't feel like I was in good hands. My procedure was in mid-January, I got there at 7:30am, they started my IV of solu-mederol since I'm allergic to IV contrast, and within about 45 minutes I was on the table in the surgery suite. The sedation they use is excellent - fentanyl and versed I believe. Enough that I was aware of what was going on (I remember thinking geez are they done yet...? during the procedure), yet I was still off in a cozy, dreamy happy land. Weird but cool.

The proedure was a success, took about 90 minutes. Laying flat on my back for 2+ hours afterwards was miserable. By far that was the hardest part of the entire procedure. Killed my back having to lay flat on a very hard mattress, if I ever had it done again I'd bring a nice memory foam topper to have them use, lol.

Anyway, I was out of the office by about 1:15pm and on the way home. I passed a little blood in my urine while there at the office. Nothing uncomfortable, no burning or anything like that. I can't take nsaids so I didn't take any prednisone following the procedure, no ibuprofen or anything like that. I took one Celebrex in the morning and one in the evening for several days afterwards. This was by far one of the easiest medical procedures I've ever had done. No problems at all. Again the only discomfort I had was laying flat on my back for two hours after the procedure. Other than that it was a piece of cake.

It's been nearly two weeks and I've had steady improvement. Not a night & day difference - but definite improvement. I'm not peeing like a racehorse yet, but defintely peeing better. No dripping afterwards. Getting up less at night, so my sleeping is better. You don't realilze how much your sleep is affected because it happens so gradually over the years - but wow, sleeping for 2-3 hours at a time rather than getting up every hour or so is so much more restful. I still get up about 3 times per night...but that's much improved from 4-5 times per night. And it's only been two weeks so I'll still get more improvement.

I can say that without a doubt, I highly recommend Dr. Bagla and his staff. And I highly recommend the PAE procedure. If you are having doubts....I'd say just go ahead and do it. It was so much easier that I had imagined. Very happy that I had it done.

3 likes, 168 replies

There is one thing you did not consider. No one knows how long a PAE procedure can last as it has not stood the test of time. Some of the older procedures have.

Hi Gary, I too have learned about PAE and DR Bagla from reading this forum. I have been in contact with him , talked with him on the phone, sent his staff all my paperwork and insurance info and they are currently working on scheduling my procedure and trying to get my insurance to pay.All of this from one phone call and my verbal description of my symptoms.

At the same time I am in contact with DR McWilliams at UCLA as I live in Los Angeles. He is an IR who also specializes in PAE. There is no info on this forum about him, but he wants to do and has scheduled me for a CT SCAN this Wednesday to let me know if I am a good candidate for the PAE procedure. He also told me that my insurance probably won't cover the cost.

My question is: Is Bagla too eager to just do it and see what happens? And is my UCLA doc not just as qualified or even better?

I find comfort on this forum that many have gone to Bagla with good results, but just because my guy doesn't exist here... doesn't mean he IS NOT the best guy for me.

The truth is , my symptoms are the worse they have ever been and I am only 54 years old. I am scared!

Hello, Bobcats

In case you didn't see my reply to gary37907, I'm also sending it to you, since we're in the same boat:

I’m in about the same situation. I’ve decided on PAE, and I need to act pretty fast, because my large prostate is causing problems. I would like to find out about Dr. James Katrivesis of UCI because I live so close to UCI. But it’s important to choose a doctor who has done at least 50 or 60 procedures, and even more is better. I also want to know what UCI charges, because I have Anthem Blue Cross, which (unlike Medicare) will not pay for PAE.

Did you find out about Dr. Katrivesis? What did you end up choosing?

Like you, I’ve identified Dr. Bagla as the other best option, because he is very experienced and charges the least for patients paying out-of-pocket. In October 2019, they quoted me 10k all included. But I’m reluctant to fly back to VA now that winter is upon us.

Dr. McWilliams of UCLA is a great guy and good friend of Dr. Bagla, but UCLA charges 19k, as of October 2019. He wishes he could charge less.

Other highly experienced PAE specialists:

Dr. Baglia Miami ($13.5k)

Dr. Isaacson Chapel Hill, NC (also $13.5k)

Dr. Ayyagari, Yale