The Urolift procedure; patient views and questions

Greetings, I'm 3 years post Urolift and reasonably pleased. I had 4 clips, no cath and done in Delaware. some pain for about a week, reduced exercise for a month . Flow was better for about a year then slowly slowed again.... i'm back on Finasteride. I take it every other day. Unless they do another Cistoscope( dreadfull!) then the follow up appointments are exterior checks. I was hoping for a longer lasting affect but better than before the Urolift. Best of Luck and give yourself enough time to heal. S

Hi there, glad to hear your lift went well.. I had mine 9 months ago and all things considered quite happy with the outcome.. the pros - I get a good flow and don't have to pee as often as I used to. I am off duodart which was a horrible med and would not recommend to anyone. I don't have retrograde ejaculation any more, and strangely I seem to have a much stronger orgasm than before the lift (we are all big boys here so I'm talking frankly).. Now the cons, I'm on aspirin for heart problems and was given all clear to start back on aspirin 2 days after my op.. that was a mistake , on day 6 after the op I felt up to doing some gardening, big mistake.. next morning i woke up unable to pee and when I got a flow up it was blood and clots.. ended up in ED with catheter and bladder flushing, spent 2 nights in hospital , and felt like crap for the next week. Also when my bladder gets full I get a kind of mild spasm and very urgent need to pee.

To sum up, I don't regret having the lift, next time will stay of aspirin for at least 2 weeks post the op, good luck, stay covid safe and cheers from Sydney Australia .

Glad it worked for you, Tandy. I'd say I have maybe a 15% improvement since my Urolift last October. Like Ess Kay I had clotting that sent me back to the hospital for 3 days. This was not fun but I got through it of course.

Now 8 months out I'm sure I'm experiencing all the improvement I'm likely to get. On balance, if I had it to do over again I'd opt for a Rezum or something like it.

Also of note is that the clips will heat up in an MRI machine. You're okay up to 3T, which is the standard these days, but if they ever increase the field strength - and I've heard that's happening in Europe - you're out of luck. I had an MRI for my PCa a couple of weeks ago, 3T, and it felt as though my whole midsection was toasty. Not unpleasant but noticeable.

Don't know what to tell you in re your upcoming doc visit. I did mine over the phone and it was brief - and that was before the virus!

Hi mate l had 8 clips 2 years ago but now the flow is becoming much weaker i think it relates to the bladder opening will probably have another shot at it after covid becomes safer.

Did not know that about the MRI I have had 8 clips so it could be painful The docs never tell you everything. my had the TURPS.and has been 2 twice more to hospital with issues but he pees much better than me l still get urgency back to where l was only not taking meda.

sounds like me mate l am 2 years post op and my flow is poor particularly at night when l am not very active Flow seems much better when exercising. l have not gone back to meds but l get up 3 times at night. Doc said could be scar tissue around bladder neck because he had to use some laser. will probably have more work done when covid slows down. You really cannot travel when you are searching for toilets.

I knew about the MRI problem with the clips before I had lift and asked my Urologist about it and potential problems diagnosing PC.. he told me there is another test out now that is supposedly as good as and if not better than the MRI.. cant remember what its called.

Thanks for the info mate!

Andy - I'm not sure about the painful part but certainly bring up the issue with your uro and the MRI tech should the issue arise. My guess is that it won't matter - the Urolift website speaks to the particulars so you might take a drive over.

EssKay - as far as I know nothing that could replace an MRI for cancer questions is ready for prime time. Of course, the MRI is not a diagnostic but only points the way toward a possible biopsy (or not). Only the biopsy is definitive for diagnosis.

But hey, they're always coming up with new things. I've read all kinds of speculation about blood tests for PCa that could obviate the need for much of the rest of this nonsense. Lemme tell you, that would be great. I've had 2 biopsies and they are distinctly unpleasant.

Guy....When I had my Urolift done 5 years ago my doctor gave me a card saying that a MRI can be done. The clips will heat up some but not enough so you can feel it.

Over the years I had 3 MRI's I think and all were fine you just have to show the tec the card.

Now has anyone ever had CT Scan with the Iodine IV. Now that is a odd feeling. Your lower half is all warm and you feel like you have to go to the bathroom but for the few minutes it feel really good.

Stay safe ..... Ken

Steve, I am also from Delaware. I am scheduled to have urolift on Friday 2/25/22. I know everyone recovers different, just wondering what your experience was. I am a little nervous since procedure is a Friday in the afternoon about not being able to pee and going back to work on Monday. Thanks Pete

Hi Pete,

I got my Urolift in Delaware but Dr. Lobis five years ago and my experience was good. No catheter a good deal of pain the first two days after your surgery while peeing but after day three or four no problem. Unfortunately, I have an appointment next week because after five years I’m seeing some blood now so we’ve got to discuss some options. I knew when I got the Urolift five years ago that after five years the research is not that clear. But my experience has been good. I went from getting up four times a night to two times a night ...unfortunately back to three times a night now. but as you know everyone’s recovery is a bit different . You should do fine for Monday work without complications. . Good Luck Pete!

Steve,

I am having Urolift Friday 02/25/22 at 230pm with Dr. Lobis. I had pre-op appointment on Tuesday 02/22/22. After reading other comments on the recovery phase of Urolift, I told him my concern with not being able to pee later that night, so he agreed to place a catheter after procedure and give me instruction for self removal 24 hours after procedure. Thanks for the valuable info.. Pete

Good luck Pete! Dr.Lobis has done many of these and very good.

Please let me know your outcome.

Best, Steve

Good luck, Pete! Self-removal of a Foley catheter is not too difficult, I had some mental blocks to doing it. If you do it in the shower is a good distraction. Make sure your doc gives you an empty syringe to pull the saline out of the balloon that keeps the Foley in place.

Michael, thanks for the advice. I will post updates. Pete

Steve,

My Urolift Procedure

Friday 2/25/22 Surgery day

In to surgery at 200pm. Dr. Placed 4 implants. After surgery, while still under, he placed catheter, supposed to be in for 24 hours. In recovery and awake at 315pm. Severe pain, urgent feel to urinate. They did bladder ultrasound and found small amount of urine, they irrigated catheter 2 times. Dr. said not much bleeding during surgery and suggested we fill my bladder with 100cc of sterile solution then take catheter out to see if I could urinate, if not he would put catheter back in. After this I was able to urinate about 90cc. He continued the IV fluids and had me drink more water until I was ready to urinate again, which I did. Dr. believed I would recover faster and easier without catheter but sent me home with some just in case I had to self cath. Discharged at 500pm, no catheter. We live about 30 minutes from Surgi-center, the ride home was uncomfortable with no need for pee stop. Friday at home, this is where things really sucked!! Following discharge instructions, I took Tylenol for pain and I continued to drink lots of water and had to urinate about every 45 minutes, Each trip to bathroom was like a walk to the torture chamber. I had to sit down because the burning was so intense I thought I was going to pass out, still urinating blood also. This pain lasted until about 500am, when I was finally able to sleep for 2 hours.

Saturday 2/26/22 Day 2 recovery- This morning still drinking lots of water urinating with small amount of blood every 2 hours, and sleeping in between. Pain is bad but tolerable compared to the day before and least I was able to stand up for it. Around noon time there was no more blood or clots in urine. As the day progressed the burning seemed to become more tolerable. Sunday 2/27/22 Day 3 recovery- I continued drinking lots of water, urinating every 3-4 hours, with little burning, and my stream seems to be better than pre-surgery, however there is some pain and discomfort in my pelvis area, which I was told to expect. Monday 2/28/22 Day 4 recovery- I was up twice last night to urinate, no blood and very little burning. I was at work at 600am.

So far I would say the Urolift surgery was just as my doctor said it would be. Pete

Hi Pete,

Thanks for the post-op details. Sounds very similar to my experience. yes, The first three days were difficult..you wonder if you did the right thing. Then..it starts to heal and everyday a little better. I didn't use a cath at all and by the end of the week...just up 1-2 times a night. That was 5 years ago..The prostrate continues to grow so Im expecting another procedure in the future, But have had 5 years of pretty normal peeing experience. No regrets here.

I wish you continued improvement and a strong stream with fewer bathroom visits. But do give it a few weeks to heal..

Best, Steve

Steve, Beat of luck to you also.

Pete