Operation to shave prostate

[ImReallyAnElf]

My husband has a catheter which is causing him quite a lot of distress. He's been advised to have his prostate shaved, with a no-guarantee prospect of possibly being able to do without it in the future, but the two people he saw have it done while he was in hospital (due to urine retention) seemed to be having a hard time with it, and losing a LOT of blood. Can you tell us in rough percentages what the chances would be of him being able to do without the catheter if he goes ahead with the operation? For example if the chance is only 20%, he wouldn't think it worth the trauma..Any other information regarding the procedure would also be welcome.

[Jonathan Makanjuola]

I'm sorry your husband is having issues with the catheter , they are not great long term and some men have really big issues wirh blockage , infection and pain

Regarding the prostate operation you are referring to a TURP which is uses a hot loop to shave the prostate and open up the channel (the tap).

Sometimes with chronic obstruction, the pump (the bladder) may not have much push despite having a open channel and some men end up with a catheter despite the TURP. Sometimes a catheter has to be inserted via the tummy (supra pubic catheter).

Is is difficult to offer actual percentages without having the full information and each case is different

Regarding bleeding after the operation, this has been minimised with newer technology like bipolar TURP or the green light laser prostate surgery which can be done as a day case ( most men go home the same day with minimal bleeding ) .

hope this is helpful

[ImReallyAnElf]

Thank you, that was helpful. I'll get my husband to ask about both of the newer procedures if he decides to go ahead with the operation.