What if prostate is removed

A urologist will cut pieces of your enlarged prostate tissue with a wire loop. The tissue pieces will go into the bladder and flush out at the end of the procedure. Transurethral incision of the prostate TUIP : This surgical procedure consists of a few small cuts in the prostate and bladder neck to widen the urethra.

Before you wake up from the surgery, the surgeon will place a catheter into your penis to help drain your bladder. The catheter needs to stay in for one to two weeks. You may need to stay in the hospital for a few days, but generally you can go home after 24 hours.

Your doctor or nurse will also give you instructions on how to handle your catheter and care for your surgical site. Whatever type of surgery you had, the incision site will probably be sore for a few days. You may also experience:. These symptoms are normal for a few days to a few weeks after recovery. You may be advised to decrease activity levels, including sex. Read more: Learn more about care after your surgery ».

Signs that you may have infection include fever, chills, swelling, or drainage from the incision. Call your doctor if your urine is blocked, or if the blood in your urine is thick or getting worse. Urinary problems : This includes painful urination, difficulty urinating, and urinary incontinence, or problems controlling urine.

These problems typically go away several months after surgery. The chances of long-term ED increase if your nerves are injured. One UCLA study found that choosing a doctor who has performed at least 1, surgeries increases the chances of post-surgery recovery of erectile function.

A surgeon who is gentle and handles the nerves delicately also can minimize this side effect. Some men noticed a slight decrease in penis length due to the shortening of the urethra.

Sexual dysfunction : You may experience changes in orgasm and loss in fertility. The prostate gland is situated in the male pelvis, below the urinary bladder. It surrounds the urethra, which carries urine from the bladder to the penis.

The procedure is used to treat a number of conditions affecting the prostate. It's most commonly used as a treatment for prostate cancer. Prostatectomy can be performed in several ways, depending on the condition involved.

Options include minimally invasive surgery performed with robotic assistance and traditional open surgery. Mayo Clinic urologists use advanced endoscopic techniques to address enlarged prostate symptoms without the need for open, laparoscopic, or robotic surgery in most cases. Most often, prostatectomy is done to treat localized prostate cancer. It may be used alone, or in conjunction with radiation, chemotherapy and hormone therapy.

Radical prostatectomy is surgery to remove the entire prostate gland and surrounding lymph nodes to treat men with localized prostate cancer.

A surgeon can perform a radical prostatectomy using different techniques, including:. Less often, simple prostatectomy may be recommended for men with severe urinary symptoms and very enlarged prostate glands. Enlarged prostate glands are known as benign prostatic hyperplasia, or BPH. Simple prostatectomy is usually performed as a minimally invasive procedure with robotic assistance.

It's not often done as an open procedure anymore. Simple prostatectomy to treat BPH doesn't always involve removing the entire prostate, as in a radical prostatectomy.

Instead, this procedure removes just the part of the prostate that's blocking the flow of urine. The surgery eases urinary symptoms and complications resulting from blocked urine flow, including:. Mayo Clinic urologists use advanced endoscopic techniques to address these symptoms without incisions in most cases. Your surgical team will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each technique, as well as your preferences, to determine which approach is best for you.

At Mayo Clinic, the urologists who perform prostatectomy procedures have advanced training and extensive experience in all aspects of the surgery. Much of this expertise stems from the high numbers of patients treated: More robotic surgery is performed at Mayo Clinic than anywhere else in the world.

Additionally, Mayo's multidisciplinary approach ensures the lowest complication rates and delivers the best outcomes possible for people who have this surgery.

Although simple prostatectomy works well at relieving urinary symptoms, it has a higher risk of complications and a longer recovery time than other enlarged prostate procedures such as transurethral resection of the prostate TURP , laser PVP surgery or holmium laser prostate surgery HoLEP.

Before surgery, your doctor may want to do a test that uses a visual scope to look inside your urethra and bladder cystoscopy. Cystoscopy lets your doctor check the size of your prostate and examine your urinary system.

Your doctor may also want to perform other tests, such as blood tests or tests to specifically measure your prostate and to measure urine flow. Follow your doctor's instructions on what to do before your treatment. When you want an erection, you literally pump this thing up and voila: it works! Very ingenious. Long story short, I got the prosthesis. And it definitely changed my life—for the better.

You go back to normal so to speak. It is quick, easy, functional, effective, and works like a charm. Founded in , Greater Boston Urology is an integrated urology practice. X Search. X Patient Support Hotline Call ZERO is a free, comprehensive patient support service to help patients and their families navigate insurance and financial obstacles to cover treatment and other critical needs associated with cancer. X Subscribe to our E-Newsletter Stay up-to-date on the latest news about prostate cancer.

Notice: JavaScript is required for this content. Main Menu X. Patient Looking for Support? Call What do they use? Laparoscopic prostatectomy has some advantages over open radical prostatectomy, including less blood loss and pain, shorter hospital stays usually no more than a day , faster recovery times, and the catheter will need to remain in the bladder for less time.

The rates of major side effects from LRP, such as erection problems and trouble holding urine incontinence seem to be about the same as for open prostatectomies.

Recovery of bladder control may be delayed slightly with this approach. Even though more long-term studies are needed to compare side effects and chances of recurrence between open prostatectomy and LRP, success of either procedure seems to be determined mainly by the experience and skill of the surgeon.

In this approach, also known as robotic prostatectomy , the laparoscopic surgery is done using a robotic system. Robotic prostatectomy has advantages over the open approach in terms of less pain, blood loss, and recovery time. For the surgeon, the robotic system may provide more maneuverability and more precision when moving the instruments than standard LRP.

This operation is more often used to treat men with non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate called benign prostatic hyperplasia BPH. But it is also sometimes used in men with advanced prostate cancer to help relieve symptoms, such as trouble urinating. It is not used to try to cure the cancer.

During this operation, the surgeon removes the inner part of the prostate gland that surrounds the urethra the tube through which urine leaves the bladder. The skin is not cut with this surgery. An instrument called a resectoscope is passed through the tip of the penis into the urethra to the level of the prostate.

Once it is in place, either electricity is passed through a wire to heat it or a laser is used to cut or vaporize the tissue.

Spinal anesthesia which numbs the lower half of your body or general anesthesia where you are asleep is used. The operation usually takes about an hour. After surgery, a catheter thin, flexible tube is inserted through the penis and into the bladder.

It remains in place for about a day to help urine drain while the prostate heals. You can usually leave the hospital after 1 to 2 days and return to normal activities in 1 to 2 weeks. Other possible side effects from TURP include infection and any risks that come with the type of anesthesia used.