1. Community
  2. Men's health
  3. Prostate Problems

Turp operation or laser ?or leave alone?

Posted , 93 users are following.

graham30431
graham30431

Hello there I am 59 years old, I have been diagnosed with bph for several. Years now , psa ok around 2.5 checked every year, symptoms getting worse, peeing several times during the night , also severe retention if leave it too long when need to go .do not leak! (Yet) and would appreciate feedback from others who have had the procedure ( good and bad) The alfuziin 10 mg tablets seem to make little difference, and wondering whether to go ahead or carry on.

6 likes, 975 replies

975 Replies

Prev Next
  • denis21
    denis21 graham30431

    Posted

    I had the procedure in 2002 and  defintiely benefited from it although it did take a few months before my system 'settled down'  I was still havinga few periods of frequency in the night and I couldn't drink any alcohol for 3 months after the op without if aggravating my waterworks. I would say I was back to normal after about 6 months. I did have a very large prostate so that might have been the reason for the long recovery period. However after that I was fine - down to none or at the most one visit to toilet a night. At that time the procedure was to perform a urodynamic test on the patient to ascertain if a TURP would be beneficial. Have the medical people mentioned that? 
  • peter06554
    peter06554 graham30431

    Posted

    I suffered with the same problem and had the lazor treatment. in hospita lthat was 6 years ago.,in the morning back home by 7pm and problem solved. I do not produce PSA and it wasnt untiill the consultant examined me and established an enlarged prostrate that I was diagnosed with Cancer. Unfortunatly it was alrready at stage 4 and i was told a year.

    That was 6 years ago and i had a scan last September and told sorry its a year again.

    I went on to abiraterone which is very expensive about £800 a week.Which you cant have until the cancer spreads. My last two scans showed its stop spreading and although its been tough im still here.

    You want to stay alive you have to deal with what ever comes along. face it and do what ever needs to be done. Hoping or pretending it will go away is not an option. regretfully with the NHS you have to fight for the treatment you need.

    good luck.

    • bart99957
      bart99957 peter06554

      Posted

      Just wondering......with the TURP surgery, they send chunks of the removed prostate for cancer testing. With laser surgery, I'm assuming it just vaporizes the prostate, leaving nothing to examine afterwards. Not sure though.......

       

    • bob120
      bob120 bart99957

      Posted

      With the greenlight Laser there is nothing left to examine, as the tissue is vaporized. The button turp procedure does leave chum which can be analyzed for cancer. I may be wrong but I think the holmium laser does leave tissue which can be analysed as well. I think with the button turp and the holmium laser, more tissue is removed as well. Still, I have read of people who had these procedures whose symptoms returned after time. That is likely because symptoms are often due to other factors than just an enlarged prostate.
  • peter06554
    peter06554 graham30431

    Posted

    The biopsy is always done first before any discussion on treatment.its a probe inserted into the back side and takes samples of the prostrate.

    The results are based on the Gleeson scale of 1-9 1 being the least aggressive and 9 the most.

    the staging is based on 1 being still in the prostrate.2 on the surface.3 in the lymth nodes and 4 has spead.

    treatment is based on these facts. If the cancer has already spread from the prostrate there is no point in removing it. if the prostrate is enlarged it presses on the tube from the bladder restricting the flow. The lasor treatment burns it away to allow full flow. it doesnt cure the cancer

    • bob120
      bob120 Dingodonger

      Posted

      I spent several years trying to link diet and bph symptoms. In the end I found no link at all. My bph symptoms of  restricted uroine flow and retention were the result of a tight bladder neck and enlarged prostate and also bladder stones. When all those issues were corrected over an 18 month period with a laser to trim the prostate volume and a surgery to widen the bladder neck and remove the bladder stones, my ability to urinate returned. I still have problems with frequency every few hours around the clock but that's another issue. I've heard some good reports on the holep laser procedure for rmoving the majority of the prostate tissue, being more efficient and having less pain and after effects than the greenlight. But my own opinion is that the condition of the prostate prior to surgery is probably the deciding factor in how well the surgery will succeed.
  • buddi
    buddi graham30431

    Posted

    Had my lazer 6 weeks ago,experiencing much the same as all others here.Thought it was just me,glad i found you guys. I'm fifty eight this year and have been battling prostate cancer for the last eight years.Uro has given me 10-12 years says he can't cure me,now looking at alts.Looking forward to reading all the updates,as i will update as i go along.

    Cheers mates.

  • john_03161
    john_03161 graham30431

    Posted

    Hello Graham,

    Just for your info, there is a difference between retention and PVR (post void residual). Rention implies a backup of urine into the kidneys while PVR refers to an incomplete urinary bladder emptying. The former is serious, the latter is bothersome and common among us BPH sufferers. Usually a Urologist will measure the PVR for you and then discuss your danger of going into retention.

    I personally went for a number of years with a PVR over 100mls and thus always felt the discomfort of incomplete emptying. There are a number of testimonials in this forum regarding the pros and cons of having a TURP and some of the alternatives. If you qualify for a Urolift, then I highly recommend the procedure, having had it done in February of this year.

  • Trebronus
    Trebronus graham30431

    Posted

    Just happened upon this post. I suffered with BPH for years and finally decided to have a TURP 4 years ago at age 54. I did a lot of research beforehand and it kind of scared me. You always seems to read the worst case scenarios on the internet and I know the success stories are not always posted. Anyway, procedure went well. Overnight in hospital, pissed blood for 2-3 weeks and then things stablized. No retrograde ejaculation. TURP seems to be the gold standard and I have no regrets. My flow, however, has diminished since the procedure and I wonder if my prostate is growing back again. Not sure if I'll have to do it again in the future. Has anyone out there had more than 1 turp done?. Cheers
    • Tomsenior
      Tomsenior Trebronus

      Posted

      Yes had a second one recently (6 weeks ago) the first one was 6 1/2 years ago and the prostate had regrown quite a bit since then. Procedure went well and more or less back to normal now.  The second was by chance really as I'd had some blood in my pee a few months ago and was referred for a flexible cystoscopy as they suspected bladder cancer but bladder turned out to be fine but they did find prostate had regrown quite a bit so decided to do second TURP, Chances are I could need a third one at some stage - if I'm still around that is! The thing is I wasn't having any flow or retention probs before the second op but probably would have started again before too long so don't regret having it.
    • Camster
      Camster Trebronus

      Posted

      You were fortunate not to have retrograde ejaculation from the TURP.
  • denis21
    denis21 graham30431

    Posted

    I have only had one TURP operation 12 years ago and have the same problem as you - re-growth. I have a friend whose had a second TURP which was as succeesful as the first. At the moment I'm taking 2 medicines which are helping the condition moderately well so I'm not in a hurry to have the second TURP. One med is called finesteride and the other tamsulosin. The last one was not available 12 years ago and in my case really helps with the flow. If you are not taking them at the moment they could be worth a try.
    • ChuckP
      ChuckP denis21

      Posted

      I just took myself off the Avodart which is the same thing as finesteride but the brand name version.  Avodart absolutely destroyed my sex life and I will never take it again.  Been off of it for 5 weeks now and will be glad when it is completely out of my system.  It prevented me from having a climax.  Horrible drug.
  • dave72557
    dave72557 graham30431

    Posted

    I am 63 and have had trouble voiding for 20 years or more and it's slowly been getting worse, then about 5 months ago-full retention,. A cathater was inserted at the local hospital but then Sepsis followed soon after as a result of the cathater.

    After a short stay in hospital being pumped full of antibiotics I was released.  I visited the erologist 4 months ago and was told the Green Light laser was the better option for me but.... when came the day of the operation it had changed to 'we will look at using the GLL but if that is not an option then it will be the TURP'.

    The TURP it was and the operation went well and when I woke there was irrigating tubes hanging out of my penis, and thanks to pain killers there was absolutly no pain, .

    The ero came next morning and assured me all would be good after 3-4 days and he said 'when those tubes come out tomorrow mate, you'll be pissing like a racehorse', He was 100% correct, I was, and this is where I fell into the trap.

    As still there was still no sign of pain I asked if it would be ok to go have a few beers with the boys as I did every saturday, his reply was 'yes irrigate, irrigate is what you need to do'.

    I spent 3 days in hospital and by the third day the bleeding stopped. So 4 days after the operation with tubes out I actually slept through the night except for one trip to the toilet instead of the usual 3 or 4 times a night for the last 20 years or so.

    Anyway on the 4th day and feeling pretty good about my new found experience of voiding like an 18 year old, off I go for a few beers and still pain free except for a bit of discomfort when peeing. Now to be fair to the doc I dont think he realised that by me saying 'a few beers' I actually meant about 15.  Anyway the day went well and I was told nobody wouldnt think for a moment that I had had surgery 4 days earlier.

    Then a few days later the bleeding started again but soon stopped, but it's bleeding again now after 12 days.

    From what I've read, even though there may not be much pain at first (as in my case) one must still take it easy, this is a big deal!

    Some have reported not being able to tell correctly if it's a pee or a Poop you need as the nerves around there have been tampered with.... I get that feeling now but sure did not straight after the operation.

    I was not told about the long recovery time, and didnt ask to many questions either, especially when I was feeling so good straight after the operation

    So the moral to my story is to take it easy, even if you feel you can still do what you are used to doing. 

  • jab3jab
    jab3jab graham30431

    Posted

    I'm 65. I had it(green light)done on July 18.1 hour surgery and was only in hospital for 6 hours total..Had a cath for 3 days and on Monday on followup had cath removed and could totally pee!!!!!!!. Also I have self cathed for 2 years and haven't peed on my own for all that time.Wonderful so far.My email is _____ if any other questions.

    Patient Moderator Note: I have removed an e-mail address from this reply as it is the policy of patient.info to not publish these within the forums. If any user is interested in this removed information they should contact the author via the Private Messaging system requesting such. Thank you for your cooperation.

    What is / how to use Private Messaging? See patient.info/forums/discuss/private-messages-226361

Back to top
Prev Next

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.