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Seeking Teaching Hospital affiliated Rezum Practitioner

Posted , 5 users are following.

Hank3035
Hank3035

I've consistently had my best luck with medical treatment at University-affiliated hospitals and clinics. Although each (UCSF, OHSU) seem quite traditional in their treatments, they have worked well for me, especially on the high-risk (laser eye treatment in the early 2000s, quite successful) procedures.

My 2 months' research indicates that Rezume is quite promising over alternative (TURP, e.g.), more invasive treatments that also have higher after-treatment problem rates and more pain involved in a very sensitive area. Am trying to overcome what appears to be the major concern - the procedure received FDA approval only in 2015 by seeking out an early practitioner with academic ties, as based on my treatment experience, this works out well for me.

Am happy to travel to get the procedure done correctly and soon, will spend time in a local motel until time for the catheter removal; affordable as this procedure appears to be paid for by Medicare/ my insurance coverage.

Referrals or suggested search techniques very appreciated!

0 likes, 7 replies

7 Replies

  • Light1
    Light1 Hank3035

    Posted

    I went to Loyola University in Chicago on June 28 and had my REZUM done by Dr Kevin McVary. He was involved with the design of the technology and was Principal Investigator for the clinical trials. As far as I can tell, he's done more of these procedures than anyone else. I'm now about 8 weeks out from surgery and doing great. I can pee, no incontinence, no RE. PM me for more info or if you need contact information for Dr McVary.

    Best of luck,

    Fred o

    • Hank3035
      Hank3035 Light1

      Posted

      Thank you, Light1; I'll investigate and update on this forum, but this sounds very promising, and the after-care comments are more than a little appreciated.

      If easy, let me know how long you spend wearing a catheter post-treatment; am guessing removal will indicate I can return home, and of course, I'll be eager to get rid of it. Hank

    • Light1
      Light1 Hank3035

      Posted

      I removed my catheter after two days and did CIC for several more weeks. No big deal as I had been doing it anyway for the last three years. If you keep the Foley, they'll probably take it out after a week to see if you can pee. If so they leave it out. Otherwise it goes back in. You do not have to stay in Chicago for this. Your hometown hospital can handle it.

      Hope this helps.

      Fred

    • changejobs
      changejobs Light1

      Posted

      fred,

      i hope all is well. I also had a rezum done by Dr Mcvary. Great guy. unfortunately after 2 years, my stream has greatly reduced. Has your rezum help up over time?

      I look forward too hearing from you.

      larry

  • ken19524
    ken19524 Hank3035

    Posted

    Hank, I've only had one experience with a university-affiliated hospital, but from that experience, I agree with you. My Rezum procedure was an amazingly easy experience, and I attribute a large part of that to the urologist who performed the surgery. I actually just got lucky because I chose Southern Illinois University School of Medicine (Springfield, IL) because they were the closest location for Rezum. The urologist who performed my procedure was Dr. Kevin McVary, who has been involved in the Rezum research about as long as anyone. He has moved, and is now at Loyola University Medical School near Chicago. Highly recommended.

    And yes, Medicare and my supplemental insurance paid for my procedure, which was done in a hospital setting with twilight anesthesia (also highly recommended!). If you want to have the easiest possible recovery, you should learn to self-catheterize and avoid the Foley catheter that so many guys have to cope with afterwards. I self-cathed almost immediately after the surgery and there was no pain. I resumed a normal schedule the next day because I could control when I needed to catheterize. After a couple of weeks, my flow was opened up enough that I stopped using the catheters.

    Best of luck to you. For a large majority of men suffering from BPH symptoms, Rezum offers a relatively quick recovery and a very targeted approach to the prostate tissues that are blocking the flow.

    • Hank3035
      Hank3035 ken19524

      Posted

      Wow! 2 recommendations for Dr. McVary and received very quickly - thank you for sharing your story, the recommendation and helpful suggestions - as you can imagine now, your sharing this information provides much comfort making the treatment decision.

      Am a little shy about the self-catheterization after a surprisingly long-lived pain from the simple camera investigation to confirm I'm a good candidate for BPH treatment, but highly appreciate your recommendation of twilight anesthesia as the Urologist I'm likely NOT going to visit again pushed back on this, saying in HIS experience it wasn't necessary, regardless of what I've read on the forums supporting your recommendation; maybe he's right but the trade-off seems to be good for my comfort level, and I don't want to fight that issue.

      Surprise! Received a call from a new Urologist in the projected long term absence of the original Doctor who did the camera inspection; the new doc is "not convinced" that I'm a candidate for prostate reduction, and wants me to "re-try" dietary (e.g., cut coffee in half) and "lifestyle" (more sleep) changes I tried before, based on her read of my chart - you can tell from my tone I'm skeptical. I'll likely try these recommendations one more time to do the conservative thing and avoid more aggressive treatment if I can, but if I don't see the progress quickly, within a matter of weeks, I'm likely to simply reach out to a selected provider, and Dr. McVary is looking like a very good candidate.

      I'm having trouble accepting a female Urologist. When I mentioned performing kegels at the end of a pee to clear out the dribble, she pushed back hard saying to avoid them as they tend to clog my urethra...can't find the supporting evidence, and my own experience is contrary to her direction. Maybe being unfair to ascribe this to a gender difference but had trouble obtaining alternate suggestions. My response to her call is to first say I'm not trying to fight her, but will be direct and questioning with my disagreements; to her credit, she seems fine (phone contact only so far) with this. Any thoughts on this are appreciated, important to me to fair to everyone.

    • ken19524
      ken19524 Hank3035

      Posted

      Hank, when it comes to a general practitioner, I'm all for a female doctor. In fact the last two that I've had (the first one moved away) were ladies. I think that women doctors listen better and are more compassionate. I know that's a generalization, but that's been my experience.

      Regarding a female urologist, though, I have my doubts, especially if she's relatively young.

      According to whitepages, Dr. McVary is 62 years old. That's old enough in my book to have a bit more empathy for guys with BPH symptoms.

      Of course I also know of some local male urologists who are around that age that I won't go to again.

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