The Urolift procedure; patient views and questions

I had the Urolift procedure done the first week of June 2019 I have had issues with no improvement yet My stream is still the same as prior to the surgery i am currently having some discomfort on the left side of my bladder, left testicle and kidney No infection My doctor has said that they have had one incident where a stable has pierced through the prostate and into the bladder. I am beginning to wonder if this is what has happened in my case. I am meeting with the doctor as soon as I can get an appointment to discuss. I will keep all updated.

I had Urolift 6 weeks ago. A couple of days ago I returned to the doctor for my checkup. I have experienced mild success - my pee stream is better (not great) and gradually my night time getting up has improved to mostly 2 times. After peeing for a urine sample, they did a bladder scan and the result was good - almost complete emptying. Oh, and I and I am still taking Tamulosin (Flomax). The doctor said full healing can take 3 months, so my next visit will be in November.

Here's my question. Last night things changed. I had to get up to pee almost every hour and a half - about 4 times! The only think I can think of differently is that I had a bowl of ice cream before bed. Can a dairy product cause this??

Do you have blood sugar issues?

I had the urolift 10 months ago, and it didnt work. I think it is restricting my flow and making bph worse.

Had the urolift about 3 weeks back.

QUESTION: has anyone had sudden testicular pain associated with the urolift?

I've just been in hospital and had a Urolift having expected to have HoLEP. I had wanted Urolift but the surgeon initially said that my prostate was unsuitable (fairly small but with a median lobe): on further inspection he decided it was fine for Urolift.

I was surprised to wake up without a catheter but, in the next few hours, found I was unable to urinate and had to have one inserted. This immediately filled up with 500ml of purple urine - and I had thought my bladder would hold 300-400 at the very most. Through the rest of the day, the urine cleared reassuringly to a yellow colour.

I was pleased this morning when the catheter was removed and, an hour later, I was able to urinate (painfully and with a small blood clot). However, an hour later I needed to go again and there was no easing of the pain/strain. On the third and subsequent attempts I had the unnerving stinging and the feeling I was about to pee, but nothing came out but a couple of slightly bloody drops. My bladder contained over 400ml of fluid when I was catheterised again, and I was disappointed to have to leave hospital with a catheter.

I had seen the surgeon a couple of hours after the operation and he told me he had never had a Urolift patient who needed a catheter, which worried me slightly, especially as things aren't improved today. While the nurse mentioned my returning to have the catheter removed in 5-7 days, my discharge letter said I would get an appointment within two weeks! The surgeon wasn't available today to give me advice. Bearing in mind what we hear about bladder infections from catheters, and the fact that the catheter packaging says "Recommended usage 5-7 days", I would not be happy to be wearing this beyond a week.

Any thoughts?

I have to add to my previous post that I've been disappointed with my hospital's aftercare after my Urolift. I got very little advice on leading the hospital but was under the impression that the catheter would only be needed for a few days. Not having heard from them the day after the consultant was back (with my follow-up appointment to remove the catheter) I rang to be told that they'd made one for me on Thursday 10th, nearly two weeks after it was inserted! It sounds as if this was just because the clinics are overbooked (our NHS is definitely under strain).

I'm not happy about this for all kinds of reasons. My understanding is that a catheter should only be in place for as long as it's needed for medical reasons: if this is to allow swelling to subside, shouldn't the maximum time be 5-7 days? I know that, the longer a catheter is in place, the greater the danger of urinary tract infections.

I'm also having trouble managing the catheter. It's uncomfortable to move around and, if I leave the house, the straps slide down my legs within minutes (despite being tightened repeatedly) and I need to stop and hide myself so I can delve into my (loose) trousers to hitch them up. Showering is difficult. I have a large "night bag" that attaches to the catheter for sleeping but can't turn over in bed because of the tube, and have to wake up and lean out of the bed every couple of hours to ensure the small bag drains into the large one, because my bed isn't as high as a hospital one and the night bag sits too high relative to the bed. In short, very frustrating.

Four days after the operation, my urine is generally clear but, when I defecated today, this was more uncomfortable than it had been the previous few times and a noticeable amount of blood came out into the catheter bag. I guess this will improve with time but the temptation, of course, is to wonder if a Urolift clip is loose and digging into my bladder...

I want to get a diferent procedure because the urolft is not working.

Hello Everyone - just discovered this group and this thread and it's been immensely valuable. I had a Urolift two days ago, 10/21/19 and have some questions.

First, I was surprised when I arrived at the urology dept of the hospital and met the uro who was doing the procedure - (my regular uro does not, this was one of his colleagues), as he told me that I would be put under (propofol) and that I would be going home with a catheter - as I'd read that most of these, at least here in the United States, were done in the doctor's office with no sedation; and that 85% of patients did not need a catheter.

Well, I was glad of the former and did not look forward to the latter. I was right, as it took 2 days for my urine to be clear enough for them to remove the catheter this morning. Not fun as I'm sure many of you know!

At any event, now I have very little control and quite a bit of urgency. I'm at home, so no accidents... yet. I'm wondering how long it generally takes for things to return to normal. Also, statistically I'd read that about 70% of Urolifts are beneficial. Meaning that 30% do no good and that in perhaps some small fraction of that things get worse.

My surgeon said that he's done over 100 of them and that his success rate is 75%-25%, with no one being any worse off. So he's ahead of the curve: great.

Any and all advice is greatly appreciated! Thanks.