Retry Urolift?
Posted , 8 users are following.
Has anyone had Urolift repeated and was it successful?
Had a Urolift done in March (2018), some initial success but it didn't last. I'm catheterizing less and peeing better when I take Rapaflow now, but if I stop it only takes a few days for the prostate to shut down the flow. No noticeable side effects.
My prostate size is about 49. I had high retention, unknown to me, and have been catheterizing for over a year and a half.
I had another cystoscopy and my Urologist thinks adding more pins might help.
He said his success rate is about 75% when he repeats it. I had 6 pins placed initially which is all the insurance allowed, but he thinks adding a few more might do the trick (my insurance allows repeats).
I asked him about Rezum and he doesn't recommend it. He tried doing it for a while and didn't like the results. He mentioned he had talked to a Urologist recently that does them and he doesn't have the first follow up until four months.
I follow this forum regularly and have looked into the different procedures. I chose Urolift initially because it's covered by my insurance and seemed like the least invasive and least side effects. Not interested in a TURP or anything that causes RE. FLA too costly and seems not always successful. My prostate is about 49 so don't think PAE is a good option and not done anywhere near me. Seems like HOLEP needs someone with a lot of experience.
I asked him about aquablation, he said a hospital he works with is trying to get one and I might be a good candidate, but of course there is still no insurance code for them yet.
We also have a gentlemen's disagreement on catheterizing. He thinks I should try to do it as little as I can (maybe once a day or so), I'm still doing it 3 x day when I take Rapaflow, 3 or 4 the days I don't. I want to keep the bladder emptied regularly so hopefully it may keep healing. He thinks it's healed as much as it's going to and I shouldn't have it interfere with my life so much.
A brief summary of my Urolift experience below for anyone interested:
- 6 pins placed, very uncomfortable to say the least with the rigid scope/placement tool. Feels like a prostate biopsy needle for anyone who's had one, but through the urethra (ouch!)
- Filled me up with about 600 ml at the end of the procedure and I peed most of it out, the Urologist was very happy and so was I.
- Stopped catheterizing and continued taking Rapaflow, had a lot of urgency and pushed out a lot of clots for the first week.
- Stopped taking the Rapaflow after a week at the Urologist recommendation and by the time I saw him for the two week follow-up was retaining 300 ml. Very discouraging.
- Started taking Afaluzin for less side effects and continued with the no catheterizing. Didn't seem to work as good as the Rapaflow and when I went in a month later retaining about 300 ml still and had a UTI for the first time.
- Started catheterizing again, hard starting again after a 6 week break.
- Tried various things with taking days off with the Rapaflow because of the RE and other side effects and am now taking it a few days on few days off, day on day off, more or less depending what's going on at work and in life. I can pee better and catheterize less when I do the Rapaflow now but still not emptying and I don't like the side effects. If I did the Urolift again and could get to only catheterizing once or twice a day (or less) without any medications I would consider it a success at this point, but of course would like not to do either.
0 likes, 39 replies
john41956 dbhumie1
Posted
I've got five clips and am getting a few more in a few weeks (my experience sounds a lot like yours). I'll be really interested in hearing from anyone who's had the additional clips, too. Sounds miserable to have it done without general anesthesia. It was "milk of amnesia" (propophol) for me and I never felt a thing. My uro said that he could only give me valium and a local if I had it done at his office, and I told him to point me the way to the surgery center.
hank1953 john41956
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john41956 hank1953
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Actually, a huge improvement, but only for about six weeks. For a while there I felt like I could help out if anyone in the neighborhood had a fire that needed extinguishing. Then over a period of 2-3 weeks it slowly started being hard to go again. I had blood in the urine the entire time, and the uro said after doing another cysto that the clip placement wasn't "optimal," which I took to mean he'd goofed it up a bit. I changed uros for the new clips. My new uro says there's still narrowing at the outlet, and I expect that's where he's going to try to open things up with the new clips.
john41956 hank1953
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dl0808 dbhumie1
Posted
U said u didn't want any procedure that caused RE.
aquabkation has 10% chance of RE. Now it has a CPT code. My insurance covers it.
likewise HoLEP has 70-8 chance of RE.
dl0808 dbhumie1
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william10248 dbhumie1
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Good Luck!
joseph34828 william10248
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Who was your surgeon? If you don't want to reply with the name, please name the hospital and the city. Thanks.
kenneth1955 william10248
Posted
Sorry that your Urolift did not work but you were just luck that you did not get Retro with you Green light. Retro is about 67 %. I had my urolift over 3 1/2 years ago. At 9 month's I had to go for a repair. One of the clips let loose because prostate got smaller. Never felt it at all. I had the new clip put in and the other 3 tighten. And it all was paid for. Repeat Urolift procedures is less then 2% But we do what is right for us.I would never have a procedure that has any chance of retro. At 63 I like it just the way it is. God bless you all Ken
kenneth1955 dbhumie1
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dbhumie1 kenneth1955
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kenneth1955 dbhumie1
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kenneth1955
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john41956 dbhumie1
Posted
My thinking for going ahead and getting more clips in few weeks is that unless there are financial reasons not to do it, it's the least painful (at least it was for me) w/very quick recovery, it's reversable (clips can be removed, at least mostly), there are minimal side effects, and it doesn't preclude something else later on if necessary. If the new clips don't do the trick for me, it's probably button-turp time. The only real drawback in my mind is the $3000 or so co-pay I ended up with, which isn't enough to put me off the procedure, though if it doesn't work that's money down the tubes.
dbhumie1 john41956
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kenneth1955 dbhumie1
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