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urolift procedure didn't work

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bill58162
bill58162

HI, I am healthy non smoking 65 year old, very active physically and overall healthy. I had the urolift procedure done May 23 2015 at which time the surgeon installed 5 clips. Prior to surgery I was on 8 mg of flomax which made it possible for me to urinate.I did wear a catheter bag for awhile then. After surgery I was on 4mg of flomax for approx. 1 month. I was able to urinate adequately for about 8 weeks. Never but once what you would consider a flow. At about the 9th week I started slowing down again until it got to the point (about 11 weeks) where it took me 8 minutes to start peeing and then it took two more times in the next half hour to finally eliminate somewhat completely. Now in the 14th week  of post op I'm on 8mg of flomax right back where I was before surgery.I am now considering what options are available to me now.

4 likes, 37 replies

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  • mathy71633
    mathy71633 bill58162

    Posted

    Hi Bill58162,

    I will advise you try PAE. Here in Australia, its very new. Clinically, it is not yet accepted as a solution to our problem. To me it works. Before I had PAE done about 5 weeks ago, I was on Tamsulasin ( Bad- Spelling)  I had Flomax for 2 years without luck. The PAE procedure is clear. Lets use a finger as an example, If the blood supply to the finger is cut-off, gradually, it will die a natural death and one day fall off. If you drill a hole from the base of that finger, the finger would feel it. With time it may survive and keep going. That means it would be back to where it was. That is what I think you went through.

    PAE is cutting or blocking the bllood supply of the Prostate, gradually it would shrink and become weak if not dead thereby giving the urine passage a peace. As you know the urine passage pass through the prostate. the result is that the flow of urine becomes better. What do we need? To wee well and have some romance is needed , not important. at your age , to live a normal life is what we suffers are hoping for. Next year I will be the same age as you.

    You need to talk to your GP and make up your mind.  Good luck

    Mathy

    • bill58162
      bill58162 mathy71633

      Posted

      Thanks, I'll do some research on that.good luck hope it keeps going well for you. no pun intended. bill
  • bill58162
    bill58162

    Posted

    A retraction is in order here. I have just come out of a complete test of my bladders functionality and it was discovered that I have a "nuerogenic bladder". In laymens terms: the nerves of my bladder do not connect with my brain properly. I cannot void my bladder completely without a catheter,I constantly retain about 400ml in my bladder. I was told a normal bladder sends messages to the brain at about 200 mls..that it needs to void and the brain responds and sends a message to contract. My bladder does not respond until 740 mls and then with uncontrolled and unproductive spasms that register in at 135 - 165 lbs of pressure. Whereas the healthy bladder works in the 20-30 lb range. So Urolift probably did do as promised but it was not the proper direction for me to take. So my sage advice: get a complete diagnostic test of your bladder initially before pursuing any prostate procedure.....
  • greg14620
    greg14620 bill58162

    Posted

    Hey Bill

    I had mine January 7th and my didn't improve any of my symptoms... I'm 53

    I had a horrible experience...in recovery (day clinic) the nurse was too aggressive with the catheter and I was placed in ICU for a second surgery. The day clinic didn't have an ambulance... So we were told to follow the nurse in her dually to the ER

    Maybe the surgery helps some folks , but I think it's simplicity and success rates are skewed

    Worst decision I ever made... I recommend people avoid it!!!!

    Hope you are doing better!

    • kenneth1955
      kenneth1955 greg14620

      Posted

      I am sorry you had a problem  Maybe it was because of the nurse and what she did.  I had mine in April of 2015 and it going on a year and all is fine Had no problem and the nurses were great. I had it done in Florida and my doctor has done over 100 since 2013 no problem with any.  I am sorry.  Where did you have it done??? Hope things get better  Ken
  • g88384
    g88384 bill58162

    Posted

    Pretty much the same for me. Took flomax before, during & after procedure. Flow was good for about 4 weeks, then started to go back to original symptoms. Cannot empty bladder. I wish I had spent more time making sure. Now in process go figure out what I should have done originally. Urolift did not work. Maybe the reason it is not covered by Health insurance. Very Disappointed.

    • kenneth1955
      kenneth1955 g88384

      Posted

      Hello  G88384.  I live in Orlando and I had the Urolift done 2 years ago.  I had 4 implants put in. Maybe you needed  few more.  That has happen to some of the men on here.  Chuck had 4 put in the first time nit worked for a while and then stopped.  He had 4 more put in and he has been fine.  Also all I paid was $200 for the surgery center.  Take care  Ken 
  • mitchell44634
    mitchell44634 bill58162

    Posted

    Hopefully this will provide help to someone.

    I am 61 former smoker, very active and in good health. I had Urolift performed Aug 2019 with 6 staples attached to my 80 cm prostate. Recovery was a bit rougher than expected. For the first 4 months steam improved slightly, ability to hold without peeing my pants improved greatly, and urge to go suppressed somewhat. Today a year late later stream is the same as before the procedure, poor. Ability to withhold has is still improved aprox, by 80 percent, urge to go, especially at night is about the same as before operation, 2-3 times/night.

  • ramblin
    ramblin bill58162

    Posted

    I had a Urolift with 5 clips in October of 2018. From that point to now, Sept. 2020, It has caused continuous pain. It did not alleviate nocturia. The only benefit was that I no longer had to use catheters, but the pain was sometimes unbearable.

    I am happy to say I just had them removed. The relief started as soon as I was out of recovery. I don't know where my condition will go from here, but I am ecstatic over losing the constant pain. (I always described it as feeling like a cockleburr was stuck in my urethra - that's an american weed with a spiked ball about a cm in diameter).

    I had to wear a foley for three days, but it is out and I am doing well. If I get enough evidence together, I might sue the doctor who implanted them.

    • ramblin
      ramblin

      Posted

      Update: I just had a urolift clip removed from inside my bladder. How could this happen? Turns out that I have a rare physiology. Most prostates are below the bladder. Mine is tucked into the bladder. When following the routine implant procedures "insert implant device to the bladder neck, then retreat 5 cm." That put the inside anchor into my bladder. The surgeon would have needed to retreat 7 cm. Of course, he would only know that if he had ordered an MRI of my bladder/prostate prior to the surgery, which he did not.

      Turns out I had three clips inside my bladder - two worked themselves out. The third, being in the front of the bladder, could not be reached by standard turp tools. I had a super pubic catheter inserted through my abdomen, where the urologist could get a better angle. I stayed overnight in the hospital, then the catheter was removed. It leaked urine for about 8 hours, then closed up. Six days later, it has stopped bleeding.

      This is why I had pain from day one to now - 2 years and 9 months later. The sharp pains have now ended. I am sore from the surgery - I would compare it to being shot in the bladder with a .22. The constant desire to urinate has also dissappeared.

      If you are interested in a Urolift - make sure your urologist orders an MRI.

  • timcos
    timcos bill58162

    Posted

    I had it done. They said it would be easy. i bled dark thick red blood through the catheter for two days. Agony and could get in touch with the doctor who said it would be easy. After it healed the only change i had was urgency and dribbling, which I didn't have prior. He said he had to go back in and put more clips in. The same thing happened, blood and pain. After it healed, no appreciable benefit. He scoped me and removed scar tissue. Now it has progressed to Peyrone's disease. Bent, shortened carrot. No where in their advertising does it mention this as a possible side effect. Now I'm scheduled for painful injections. Not happy at all.

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