REZUM--HAVE YOU HAD THIS DONE???????

Had the Rezum procedure done 35 months ago. The doctor was pushing me not to have general anesthesia, however I insisted.

At the surgical clinic there were eight of us prepped, when I inquired where my Anesthesiologist was I got a puppy dog look. Told the doctor I was not prepared to move forward without being put under, after a couple of hours they found one, prepped me and when I awoke there was a certain amount of pain but not overwhelming. Doctors office removed the catheter a week later and was able to urinate easily however ejaculations were somewhat muted . One side effect, at errection the penis had a disturbing trait of bending left . In the last twelve months it has become slightly more difficult to urinate, but not to the point where I would go back on medication (Flomax).

Would I do it again if I could travel back in time, most likely yes, (anesthesia only) would I have it done a second time.....am still on that decision fence. I am 70 years of age

I have been following this forum as I consider REZUM in London, UK. The options I was offered were either TURP or REZUM, performed in two different hospitals. I checked with two urologists abroad, but they were suggesting laser enucleation (not sure which procedure specifically they referred to) as the best option.

My background: 50+, family history of large prostate. Was picked up on high PSA 9 years ago but the first years were spent on convincing me into biopsy (declined!) and cancer scare. Since then I had 4 MRIs that did not find anything suspicious, so it is now seen as BPH. Last MRI nearly 2 years ago estimated prostate size as 80cc, prominent median lobe.

Gone into retention 4 years ago, however this was preceded by months of symptoms that were interpreted as colon disorders. Misery with Foley catheter for 3 weeks but was taught to self-catheterise (another month before started voiding without, though with spasms initially). Since then have been on Tamsulosin and Finasteride (Dutasteride recently) , enjoying all their side effects. Colonoscopy did not find anything, BTW.

Had another retention this year, this time on a short notice that felt as 2-3 days of digestive disorder until all muscles got blocked at night. Luckily had catheters at hand. On this occasion it was accompanied by swelling of both feet that took over a month to go away.

After both retentions had UTIs that were treated by nitrofurantoin.

Saw Palmetto brought relief in the past but made no difference this time (same capsules from the same manufacturer).

On the US both renal calyces and pelvis are enlarged, bladder has diverticula. Was told that my prostate grows upwards, towards the bladder.

Urination is difficult, with hesitation and strain and I don't feel the bladder is emptied. Sometimes there is an urge. Nights are generally not bad, typically 2-3 wake ups.

I am now scared to travel. Was told that another retention can be triggered by anything from cold to alcohol and that self-catheterising may become impossible.

This finally made me into accepting that surgery is unavoidable.

I was referred to a consultant specialising in REZUM but have not heard back yet (coronavirus did not make things easier) and may explore the private insurance route.

It really concerns me to read that many horror stories about bleeding, long recovery process and moderate to no benefits of REZUM. In the UK doctors seem to be reluctant about sedation and any help post-procedure will only be available at the hospital which is about an hour away. Foley catheter will be a nightmare.

I am compiling a list of questions to ask the consultant and expect to have another MRI before the surgery (CT PET scans are much more expensive, therefore I don't count on it).

Is there anything else for me to consider or to ask for?

According to my research FLA is not offered in the UK, therefore REZUM is the least invasive procedure.

I will update the forum with my progress but expect it to be slow (as long as medications somehow keep me up).

Good Morning. I had the Rezum 5 weeks ago today. I've had an enlarged prostate for years (70yo) with no real problems and have been taking Tamsulosin for a few years. I had my knee replaced in 2019 and afterwords could not pee for 5-6 weeks so I went home with a cath (my 1st ever) since I cn pee and the URO put me on Finasteride also. I was miserable and had a bad UTI. After researching I realized I was taking a cough med every nite to help my sinuses which is bad for your prostate and along with the pain pills and sedatives they give you I guess I just pushed my prostate problem too far, The URO and I talked about UROLIFT and since I was now peeing I didn't give it another thought. Well I was due for a followup in early 2020 and we all know what happened then so everything was delayed. I finally went in in Sept 2020 and they did a bladder scan and said I had some bladder wall damage and we really should do something to prevent a problem down the road (after the knee surg and trying to remove the cath I ended up in the ER to have it put back in as I had about 900cc of urine in me). Well at this point and cn do the UROLIFT due to a 3rd lobe pushing on my bladder and he said if I was his father he would do the Rezum. I researched this URO practice and everyone said they were great (I've been a Paramedic/FF for a long time and the head of our medical system goes to the same place so that was all I needed to hear as he is my go to guy for medical questions). I had the Rezum done in his office with laughing gas only and dn feel a thing and talked to them thru the whole procedure. Went home with a cath for 3-4 days with no pain or discomfort. I did not realize that the cath would leak a little and was not happy about that (what/how can you do with that problem) Got the cath out and had no problem peeing (had some clots-tissue--blood) with almost no pain. At 1st I was up every hour or so to pee and last night I only got up once, I still have that urgency to go when I gotta go today. It took 5 weeks for the blood to stop (hopefully it has stopped for a few days now and I did not wear a pad for the first time). I am peeing pretty often during the day as I don't want to be caught with no bathroom near so I go when I am near one. Hopefully things will continue to get better and I will get a stronger stream and volume each time. Definitely picked the wrong year to have implants on my lower teeth (started in Feb and hopefully will finish tomorrow again delayed by Covid--lost about 20lbs not being able to eat) and this procedure done with Covid and the Dr's office being shut down (both my URO and GP docs got new computer systems this fall and things were screwed up up and you cn even call either one, you had to go there. Sorry for the LOONNGG post but I wanted to give everyone as much info about my case and hopefully answer/help some with what I have said. Looking forward to your responses, Thanks, Mike

This is a great way to find out what actual patients receiving the Rezum procedure experienced. Here's my experience.

I am 78 and have BPH. Cancer was ruled out by a biopsy 6 years ago. I got to the point that I was having trouble just getting a stream going and wearing a pad to catch leakage and the urine flow that was very hard to resist as I was unzipping and getting my junk out. I controlled the night-time urge by not drinking anything within 2 hours of going to sleep. I smelled of urine and needed to do something. I read about Urolift and Rezum and went to a Urologist for an evaluation. My prostate was large and the shape ruled out Urolift. I was examined, prodded, scoped, checked for infections, etc and was scheduled for the Rezum procedure within a week at the urologist group office. I was given a mild pain pill and an antibiotic before hand which I took before going to the office. On arrival, I had the procedure explained and I went into the procedure room and they started with an injection to numb the prostate. They started very soon after that. The procedure was accompanied with nitrous oxide if I wanted to use it during the procedure. Like others have stated, the steam hurt like hell, even though I was huffing the nitrous oxide. He treated 7 places and then they placed a foley catheter with a leg bag and I left, driving myself home.

I had burning pain, not too bad following the procedure and Tramadol worked to make it manageable. The urine bag was about 1/3 full and with blood clots and colored urine. About 3 hours later, the urine bag was still at 1/3 but my bladder was full and I was in pain. The urologist office was still open so I drove there right away. They took me right into a treatment room, removed the cath and placed another one. It filled up like a balloon within about 30 minutes. I drained it into the toilet and I left. About 10 pm, the cath was blocked again and I went to an ER at a hospital. They removed the cath and placed a new one, which filled up very quickly. This repeated twice more over two days, one at the Urology office, and another trip to an ER. It finally quit blocking and they removed it a week later during the post-procedure check.

After that, I could pee like a horse but I still had leakage just before entering the bathroom and while I was unzipping as I said before. My urine was (and still is) cloudy and it stinks. I have no pain, no fever and my sexual function is pretty much the same. I had retrograde ejaculation before and I still have it now.

My procedure was done on September 16th, 2020 and today is December 18th, which is 3 full months after the procedure. I have zero pain but my urine is still somewhat cloudy and it stinks. I still dribble on the way to a toilet so I wear a pad and still smell like urine. I plan to go back as soon as I can to see what's going on. Hope this helps someone else. I will report back after my visit with the Urologist.

Hello, all.

I think - and hope - that my urological odyssey is at an end. In my last post, three months ago, I described how I found a urologist, Dr. Edward Gheiler, with a very good reputation, who has performed over a thousand Rezums. Though he is one of the most experienced Rezum practitioners, and continues to perform them regularly, his opinion on my case was that Rezum was not the best course of action, because of the geometry of my prostate, especially my median lobe.

Instead, Dr. Gheiler proposed a green light laser "mini-TURP" of the median lobe only. His reasoning was that he did believed that my median lobe was responsible for almost all of my urinary problems, and that leaving my lateral lobes alone posed the best chance of my retaining ejaculatory function. He estimated a 90% probability that his suggested procedure would not result in retrograde ejaculation (RE). He said that treating my median lobe with Rezum would present a greater probability of RE. The reason for this was that he could be much more accurate in exactly what would be removed near the bladder neck with the green light laser. And if the bladder neck was damaged, my untouched lateral lobes would continue to provide a "backstop" against semen flowing backwards into my bladder.

He also said that recovery from Rezum in my case would be very painful.

I got a second urological opinion on this proposed procedure from another well-regarded Rezum practitioner, Dr. Dawn Scarzella (who has been mentioned on this thread). That opinion concurred that Rezum would not be the best option in my case. She differed from Dr. Gheiler only in that she preferred a "button-TURP" mini-TURP instead of the green light laser mini-TURP because of her familiarity with the button-TURP equipment.

So, I decided to trust my urologist, though it seemed to contradicted what I had read and watched in Rezum articles and videos. A week before my surgery, Dr. Gheiler informed me that he'd be using a Holmium laser instead of the green light laser because of its higher energy efficiency.

This process has taken two years to finalize and I've never had a more difficult decision in my life. I actually had doubts up to the day before the surgery. Looking back from the other side of the surgery, I'm amazed that I actually went through with it. I think that what finally pushed me over the edge was the realization that if I did not go through with it, my condition would continue to dominate my life. Added to that was Dr. Gheiler's assertion that median lobes can be "bladder killers."

I'm now two weeks post-surgery with the Holmium laser mini-TURP, and one week post-catheter. Right after the catheter was removed, I peed like a racehorse, amazed at the stream. A couple days ago, I got the okay to have sex. There was no RE. Quite the opposite. The ejaculation was stronger than before the surgery. However, after ejaculating a couple of times, the stinging pain in my urethra became intense. So, I'm laying off for a week or so. I feel pretty good now, with some pain when urinating. Maximal effects of the surgery should be complete in about two months, and I hope that my ability to ejaculate won't end when the inflammation goes away and the internal swelling subsides. I believe that most of the pain I feel now is because of the catheter being in me for a week.

Before the surgery and since the catheter removal, I've been doing lots of pelvic floor exercises. I'm also continuing to practice a prostate-friendly diet and exercises. If I need to treat the lateral lobes later on, my urologist told me I could opt for Rezum.

As of just a few months ago, I was dead set against doing any form of TURP. I liked the idea of Rezum much more. In the end, I decided to trust the judgment of someone who had far more knowledge and experience of Rezum than I had. I also know that Urolift has a much lower incidence of RE than almost any other therapy. But I prefer to avoid any implanted device, even if I end up with RE.

I'll return to this board in a couple of months to report on the longer term effects of the surgery.

ive been trolling this thread for months and came back recently because i am so miserable. i was seriously reconsidering having the Rezum done. Have not seen ONE reply on here that says procedure really helped. sounds like torture and complete waste if time. has anyone? Anyone had it and can say it was worth it and worked?

I am 49 years of age, TRUS showed 50 size of prostate or bladder (not sure). I don't have to wake up during the night to void since I went on cpap machine. I void 8 times per day on 4 or 5 glasses of liquids. My complaint would be urgency which I would rate as a 7 or 8 out of 10 and weak flow . The Urologist is recommending Rezum. Based on my age, being able to sleep, and frequency of voiding, I am questioning if I should have the Rezum done or am I ok for now. Any advice would be greatly appreciated as reading about the after effects I am thinking I am ok without it. Thank you