Why Urolift isn't that successful in the US
Posted , 15 users are following.
I've been reading a lot of reviews/patient experiences that have been bad with Urolift. I think the problem in the US is that it is so extremely lucrative that urologists can't pass it up. Ken had a good outcome probably because his condition was a good fit for it. A larger uncomplicated prostate with no middle lobe or bladder neck issues. Mine was a smaller more "funky" shape. My doctor does 10 a day, a couple times a month. At 15K a pop that's 150K a day or about $1000.00 a minute, for the procedure. If you are over 40 and have difficulty urinating the default diagnosis with no testing is BPH and the default solution is a 15k urolift office procedure. If it doesn't work, then maybe a 15-20k follow-up Turp procedure. There is no incentive to do urodynamic testing to determine if the problem might be bladder related. I wish I had read more of the "not so good" reviews before having the procedure. Now I am worried that I have 6 implants that might break loose down the road and cause issues when the result didn't really improve my condition and was painful and expensive. My suggestion to anyone considering it would be to get a second opinion from another doctor that has no financial incentive
0 likes, 29 replies
johnnyringo benThere
Posted
i tend to agree. i saw my Uro yesterday for an annual check up. Had to in order to get my Tamulosin refiill approved. only saw his PA, the doctor never made an appearance. PA's first words were "last year we suggested a Urolift and you declined, have you reconsidered?" No thank you! I asked about Alfuzosin instead of Tamulosin because of the "tipping Iris" issue I 've read about. He said no difference. As I was leaving he came back saying he had just read some more and agreed to change it.
bob75564 benThere
Posted
Firstly, I do believe that many of the men who have had successful urolift procedure probably do not visit a forum like this to post about it. But, I do agree with you. I think many of the failed urolift procedures are because the actual problem causing the BPH was not diagnosed and matched with the urolift procedure. I am not sure why Neotract, developers of Urolift , do not more closely regulate their procedure and who it can be performed on. It must hurt their success rates when they allow it to be performed on a man whose BPH problem cannot be fixed by the urolift procedure. I was lucky when I trusted my urologist. I was not as knowledgeable about urolift, as I am today. However, I am in my fourth year with still great results. Bob
kenneth1955 benThere
Posted
Good Morning Ben
There have been a lot of good out come with Urolift and there are a few bad ones that have not worked but that is with any procedures because we are are different and procedures are not a one size fix all.
Urolift has been around for all most 9 years. With checking with the men that had it done in the trails there was only a 2 % redo of procedure with the men. If you had a median lobe problem or if you were in retention it is not going to help you . That is why they came up with the MedLift Procedure which has worked for many men with Median Lobes. They take and pin it to one side away from the bladder neck
Every man has the right to have any procedure that they feel is right for them but it is up to the doctor to fined what is the problem which my doctor did He know after the test that my prostate was close tight and all I needed was to have it pulled apart. He know also how I felt about my sex life and retro ejaculation because we talk about all of it.
Most doctor do not do that they are looking at the turn over which I am very sorry for these men. This is because they do not know enough about a procedure and there problems. Also there are a lot of doctors that do not care about your sex life the only function they care about is to get you to pee better.
I don't want to keep going all I am going to say is before you have any procedure make sure you have all the test to find out what the problem is and do not be talked into anything that you are not sure of. Remember it is your body and if it does not work and you have side effects the doctor is just going to move on to the next. They do not want to be told they are wrong
I hope you all have a great day....Ken
timothy81571 benThere
Posted
I tend to agree. It also seems like a procedure that is not technically sound, almost like shooting with a bow and arrow hoping you hit the target. Just my opinion, you're mileage may vary, but would not want this done to me.
hank1953 benThere
Posted
You are spot on right. Urolift does work for a small group of people, with certain right conditions. To be more precise, people with very mild symptoms yet are very concerned with sexual side effects, mostly retro ejaculation. Lazy and greedy uros and promoters just over sold the products, sometimes using forums like this one to overhype it. The result is what we have seen repeatedly. I feel sorry for those people that took the bait. I myself was offered Urolift last year and luckily declined it.
lester90053 benThere
Posted
It's the reason why doctors carry malpractice liability insurance.
rob78162 benThere
Posted
I had a Urolift done in August of 2015 and it did zero good and took months to recover from. I have since continued to suffer with BPH sypmtoms. I have a median lobe and at that time having a median lobe ruled out the Urolift. I truly think that the urologist who did the surgery just wanted to ramp up the number of cases that he had under his belt. I actually had a cystoscopy today with my new urologist and as I watched along on the screen the first thing that she said when she got to my prostate was 'Oh, the Urolift had no chance of fixing that'. I was scheduled to do a Urodynamics test at the end of this month but the urologist said that there was no need to do it, that the prostate obstruction was my problem. I think that I am headed for a TURP. I'm 59 and have been dicking around with BPH symptoms and meds for 20-25 years. I don't want retrograde ejaculation but I do want my life back and having chronic BPH ruins, hikes, movies, dates, etc. Just want my life back.
Rob
hank1953 rob78162
Posted
Rob, have you looked into CIC ? No RE, just a little inconvenience. Rezum ? More effective than Urolift, less effective than TURP but much less risk of RE than TURP. If your only choice is TURP, ask for bipolar TURP.
kenneth1955 hank1953
Posted
Hey Hank
That doctor that did his Urolift should not have done it at all. When he was inside I know he had to have seen the median lobe and he left it in front of the bladder neck. Rob was just a number.
Back when Rob had his procedure done. 2015 Me to They did not have anything for the median lobe. Now there is a new procedure that has been out a year that deal with the median lobe by clipping it to one side.
I have gotten the information on the doctors in there area and it has been working great for the guys that had it. It was invented because there were to many men that did not want to have any problem with there sexual function and retro.
I hope you all have a great day. And God Bless.........Ken
rob78162 hank1953
Posted
Hey Hank,
I have not heard of a bipolar TURP but will ask my doctor about it as well as CIC.
rob78162 kenneth1955
Posted
Hey Ken,
I truly believe that I was just a number to that urologist. I had a cystoscopy prior to the Urolift and he said that I had a median lobe and that the procedure would only be a double and not a home run but that it was still worth doing. He soft sold the procedure to me, said I could play tennis the next day if I wanted to, etc. that I believed him that there was no downside. I obtained the surgery report a few months later and I saw that he misfired the gun once and the clip didn't deploy and another time that the gun fired but the clip didn't seat correctly so he had to do it again. During my cystoscopy yesterday I watched along on the screen and actually saw at least one clip and it was just sitting to the side and doing nothing. I think that I actually have two clips but I only saw one. I think that we all have to be advocates for our own health and push back on any doctor who tells you how easy the recovery is going to be and how this or that procedure is a magic fix. It may be for some but not for others and I think that doctors need to be more straightforward.
Rob
kenneth1955 rob78162
Posted
Right there you should have said no. At that time they had no procedure for the median lobe. He put the 6 clips in but did not touch what was the problem. He did use you wanted you to come back for another procedure
Like you said you were just a number.
Ken
hank1953 kenneth1955
Posted
Hey Ken, both you and I know that his uro should not have done Urolift, knowing that he has median lobe, but many uros out there are doing it anyway.
In my case, last year my uro suggested Urolift, without any testing, knowing fully well that I have bad retention, which is no no for Urolift. I pretended ignorance and asked for a cystoscopy first, to see if I have median lobe. He said "You'll find out if you have median lobe or not during the Urolift procedure." What a quack ! Of course, I declined it.
kenneth1955 hank1953
Posted
Hey Hank
That is why that men need to do some research before they see a doctor so they know something and ask questions. A lot of doctor do not like when the patient knows anything.
Have a good day. Ken
hank1953 rob78162
Posted
Rob, CIC means self cathing. It's very simple. You can get it started even without talking to your doctor. Yet it can give you much relief and buy you time until you find the right procedure.
mike24933 rob78162
Posted
Rob,
Bipolar turp is the modern way of doing it. I am surprised anyone does turp any other way these days, but check for sure. I had a bipolar turp last July after years of escalating problems. The result was very good. All problems completely solved. Very different from all the horror stories I had read. Not even RE now. Obviously its going to depend on who does it so do what you can to find someone with a lot of experience.
kenneth1955 mike24933
Posted
Mike I am very happy that your procedure worked for you and you had no problem with your sexual function. Yes you have to make sure you have a good doctor that know what he is doing and retro is still at 35 % with a Bipolar Turp
There are some men that think that 35 % is to high and will not take the chance
Urolift has worked for many men. There was a report about over 10.000 men have been helped. But with any procedure you have to make sure you have all the test you can to see what the problem is. If your only problem is your prostate then opening the prostate up would be the answer. But if your problem is your bladder, kidneys then the Urolift will not help. I have read many men that there doctors have done the procedure on them that they had a median lobe. If they do not take care of that it is not going to work It will not work if you are in retention either.
There is a lot to look at.For me my prostate was the problem. I had 4 clips put in and it open me up. It will be 4 years tomorrow. I pee fine and have no side effects. At 63 I do not need to pee like a 16 year old but I do want all my sexual function to be there so I can enjoy my life.
We are all different and men are having BPH problem at a earlier age and there are men that do not want to give up on there sexual functions at 35 or 40. You have the right to any procedure you want. But I will say that no one treatment will work for everyone. It's not one sides fix all.
Before you do any procedure do your research and be in 100 % make sure your doctor explains the side effect or read and understand them for yourself because your doctors does not care about your sex life he is just trying to get you to pee better.If you end up with a problem after the procedure they just put you on pills and tell you that it will get better.
Have a good day. Good health to all and good luck with any procedure you have
...Ken