Post surgery, nerve sparring minimally invasive robotic prostatectomy

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I'm 52 years old and was diagnosed with PC back in January.  First biopsy I had done came back with a few areas of PC, Gleason score of 6, so I was advised to do active surveillance.  I decided to get a second opinion at Memorial Sloan Kettering, and thank God I did.  They didn't want to use the results of my first biopsy so I had to go for another one through them.  Results were Gleason score of 7 which makes that an intermediate risk rather than a low risk and I was advised I now have to do something.  That was very difficult, at first, of course I was sad, depressed and scared, then I got angry and my first reaction was, I want my prostate out, I don't want this cancer in my body. Hearing about the side effects with ED and  incontinence, I did have my reservations.  I did my research and decided that my best option was to have the Nerve sparring robotic prostatectomy.  I'm posting this because I hope I can help at least one of you that's going through this difficult time. I was told so many different things, "no more erections",  "maybe they'll come back in a year, two years" ,  "maybe never hard enough for penetration",   Incontinence, etc etc.   Well I have to tell you, I can not believe how well I'm doing, I feel so blessed, not even 3 weeks post surgery and I've surpassed my expectations to say the least.  My surgery was 8/11/17,  I have not had a drop of urine leakage,  I've been on a low dose of viagra (20mg per day) since two weeks prior to my surgery, and within two weeks post surgery, I had a slight erection.  17 days post surgery, I had a full erection, hatd enough for penetration.  I'm amazed, and so thankful that I chose the path I did, I was told by a friend of mine who happens to be a urologist, I was too young to mess around with seeds, radiation, cyber knife, etc

 My pathology report came back, and it was confirmed that the cancer was a Gleason 7, and it was contained to my prostate only. I highly recommend the surgeon I used, he was fantastic, he sat with me, answered all of my questions very patiently, and although I know, sadly,  we're just numbers and statistics, but he didn't make me feel that way for a second.  His name is Dr. Vincent Laudone, Memorial Sloan Kettering,  he has done over 2,000 of these procedures.  Sorry for the long post, I just want to help as many of you as I can, I know the feeling and it can be very overwhelming.  Good luck to you and may God bless you

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  • Posted

    thanks for the recommendation and encouraging news! At age 66 I had a mri, no biopsies, and the mri showed two t2 lesions, I am going to think about getting the biopsy as my platelets are low and I bleed easy, see if the doc thinks I can follow up in 6 m or a yr with another mri and see if the lesions are growing.
  • Posted

    My surgeon had great difficulty 

    Re attaching my ureatha .i was surprised to have any erection at all haveing non nerve sparing open surgery.ithink I had the best possible outcome. Having Gleason 9 .main thing it was contained & clear fields  magic 

    Hope yours goes well.

  • Posted

    Hopeful65:

    Dr. Laudone is the best!  He performed my surgery Oct 2, 2015.  I also had a Gleason 7 that was fully contained the the prostate.  I was fully continent the day that the catheter was removed.  I had a full rock hard erection shortly after the swelling subsided.   No issues with ED or incontinence at all.  

    I have not had a single problem or side effect whatsoever.  I go for my 2-year checkup in a couple of weeks.  

    • Posted

      Golly Jota, That's brilliant!   Keep it up <VBG>

      Cheers Richard

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