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Urolift Clip Removal and Biopsy tomorrow

Posted , 7 users are following.

benThere
benThere

I'm getting nervous in about 8 hours I'm going into surgery to have a urolift clip removed that went through my bladder. I've been peeing a lot of blood lately and hope that that is the only cause. The doc found some suspicious bleeding spots that he wants to biopsy. I think they were caused by the clip hitting different parts of the bladder when I moved. I'm worried that he might nick the bladder trying to remove the clip. I know Urolift has helped a lot of people but it can also seriously mess you up. If your doctor smiles when you go in for the consult and brags about doing 10 or more a day, run for the hill.

0 likes, 17 replies

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  • john53959
    john53959 benThere

    Posted

    Thanks for the heads up. My Uro Doc only has experience with the UroLift and the TURP....not much

    to choose from. I am not a urgent must have a fix right now... have some time to research options.

    Thanks

    • lee56659
      lee56659 john53959

      Posted

      Nothing wrong with a TURP if your surgeon is good. My experience was great. One night in the hospital, came home without a catheter, a few days of frequency/urgency but no post-op pain. I resumed all normal activity after 3 weeks and 4 months later I'm doing great (actually was doing great after a month or so).

      If medication is working for you, then that's great. I got to the point where doxazosin just wasn't doing the job. I am glad I made the decision to have the TURP (a large median lobe made a successful Urolift unlikely.) The best information will be from clinical trials, not random strangers on the internet (myself included.)

  • benThere
    benThere

    Posted

    My procedure went well. So far much better than the urolift procedure which was extremely painful and I had a horrible 2 week recovery. Most of that I attribute to a doctor that believes in "verbal anesthesia" and hates to send you home with a catheter even if you need one. This time the doc removed two urolift clips with a partial TURP procedure. The clips were protruding into the bladder and causing me a lot of bleeding. There was also a stone developing. I had general anesthesia and went home with a catheter for a day. This eliminated much of the trauma I had the first time. After removing the catheter peeing was a bit painful the first 24 hours but is starting to feel better. I have not had the urgency I had after urolift. I am already peeing alot better.I wont know for a few weeks if there are other complications but so far I think its way better.I just think I was a bad candidate for Urolift.

  • andrew23481
    andrew23481 benThere

    Posted

    Hi BenThere,

    Thank you for the update. I am very interested as I have an upcoming cystoscopy to see why I have continuing pain and some blood in semen 8 months after urolift. It could be a clip is in the wrong place.

    What I don't understand and maybe you (or anyone else) can tell me is how the clips came to be in the bladder at all? The urologist is using a cystoscope at the same time as performing the Urolift so how can he end up firing the clips in the bladder? Did they say which end of the Urolift clip was in the bladder and did it all come out or just one end get cut off?

    I presume your 'peeing better' must be due to the partial turp rather than clip removal.

    I hope it all works out Ok for you.

    • jim94474
      jim94474 andrew23481

      Posted

      My Urologist told me before I had a Urolift in March that they stopped placing the clips close to the Bladder to prevent the clip entering the bladder.

  • benThere
    benThere

    Posted

    Good luck with your upcoming visit, I hope they can discover the source of the bleeding. Mine occurred after workouts which made me believe it was not bladder cancer but they might have to do a full workup with CT scan if the cystoscopy doesn't show the cause.

    My problem is that I have a "high bladder neck" not sure what that means but the doctor mentioned it before doing the urolift. I have since done some research and discovered that a high bladder neck makes urolift very difficult. Probably not the right procedure. I have also learned that clips piercing the bladder wall is a known side effect that can happen. I happens because the doctor gets too close to the bladder when he fires the device, the front clip can attach to the bladder wall instead of the prostate.In my case both clips closest to the bladder actually extended into the bladder and caused the bleeding when they moved. They also formed stones.

    Good news is that with the partial turp, I am peeing better than I have for 20 years or so, coming out like a fire hose. I still need to do some bladder retraining so I can hold a little more but I think that will come with time.

    Good luck

    • lee56659
      lee56659 benThere

      Posted

      What is a "partial turp?" Does that mean he didn't remove as much prostate tissue as he might have with a "total turp?" Anyway, as a satisfied turp recipient, I can attest to the fact that you should be able to go longer between voids and the volume should increase after the healing is complete. Mine voiding volume almost doubled after about 3 months.

    • andrew23481
      andrew23481 benThere

      Posted

      Thanks for the reply. I too found out I have a high bladder neck (but only after the procedure), pushed up by the median lobe of the prostate. The Urologist has attempted to deal with that using Urolift which as you say, is probably not the best option for these difficult cases. Had I known, I would have gone with Rezum instead but my Urologist doesn't do that procedure.

      My clips were right up at the bladder neck so I don't know where the front clips ended up. I have not had much improvement from Urolift and now have pain which I didn't before so not happy with the outcome. Just have to see what they find now I suppose.

  • jim94474
    jim94474 benThere

    Posted

    I hope things turned out OK for you.

    I had a Urolift on March 25, 2019 and it made my flow worse. Also I have a little burning sensation that is driving me nuts. I had another Cystocospy and the doctor said the clips were OK and that the burning was probably healing. He now wants to do a TURP and I am against it unless I am urinating through a cateter. Now I am wondering if he removed the Urolift clips would it stop the little burning sensation.

    • chuck68670
      chuck68670 jim94474

      Posted

      Jim,

      I hope everything turns out excellent for you. My Urologist (who says I have to decide whether I want a Urolift or a TURP) explained to me that they can remove the Urolift "clips" which are in the urethra, if medically required. However..., once installed, the Urolift cables and the "Anchors" can NOT be removed without Major Surgery. He went on to acknowledge that "sometimes" the installation of the Anchors are what cause some unforeseen side effects; such as damage to the Bladder and other internal things.

      Therein lies the problem(s) I fear if I choose Urolift. I am a very active person and I enjoy physical exertion as a constant in my Life. I like to run, Surf, Hang-glide, climb, hike, etc... and I pull muscles and get strains. If I got a Urolift, I believe that the likelihood of a clip, cable, or anchor ripping loose would be about 50/50 every month. So although I fear the "Roto-Rooter" of TURP, and with my IR Doctor saying I am not a good candidate for PAE, I feel that I am running low on options that will help my BPH except TURP. I have an appointment with a different Urologist at Stanford in September. I am hoping he can give me some sort of "Good News". Good Luck Brother,

      Chuck

    • jim94474
      jim94474 chuck68670

      Posted

      Thanks for the info about the Anchors. I have suspected that even if the clip part in the Urethra is removed that the Anchor could still cause side effects such as a little burning sensation like I have now. I also wonder if Insurance would pay for the clip removal without having another procedure like TURP or Rezum.

    • chuck68670
      chuck68670 timothy81571

      Posted

      Tim,

      Thank you for your thoughts, Rezum does sound like a viable alternative. However my insurance provider has not responded to my inquiry regarding their Rezum procedure coverage; except to say that the procedure has yet to be documented as "medically" required/necessary by my PCP , IR, nor Uro

      So like FLA, the Rezum procedure, although definitely under my personal consideration, may not be an affordable option for me.

      Chuck

    • chuck68670
      chuck68670 jim94474

      Posted

      Jim,

      I should add that my Uro did say that once the Urolift clips, cables, and anchors have been set, it's unusual for them to migrate.

    • timothy81571
      timothy81571 chuck68670

      Posted

      Seems like it should be easy to get a Uro to sign off on it. I would stay from Urolift, but thats just my humble opinion.

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