Prostate removal (also known as radical prostatectomy) is a major operation and you will feel some pain and discomfort afterward. But you will recover faster if the surgery is done minimally invasively, which means your surgeon makes smaller incisions. This is because the muscles, blood vessels and important nerve bundles that are located near the prostate, sit in a confined space that’s difficult to access through conventional open surgery.
In most cases, we will be able to remove your prostate using one of our robotic techniques. Minimally invasive procedures also have a lower risk of complications and you’re more likely to be able to return home the day after your operation, compared to traditional open surgery.
We may also need to remove lymph nodes from the area surrounding your prostate gland, a procedure called pelvic lymph node dissection. This would be done if the cancer has spread to these nodes, or it’s thought that it could spread.
The main risks of this operation are urinary incontinence and problems with erectile function. Urinary incontinence is the loss of control over your bladder, which can lead to dribbling or leakage. It’s more common with a radical prostatectomy and can take time to recover from, although you may never regain full control over your bladder. It’s possible to manage this symptom by learning muscle exercises and taking medications.
Some men experience a reduction in the length of their penis after prostate removal, a condition called erectile dysfunction. This is because the seminal vesicles are removed along with the prostate, and it can affect your ability to have an orgasm during sex. It can also make erections harder to achieve and you may dribble or produce little or no semen after an orgasm. However, most men do not experience this problem and it is usually not permanent.
You will need to stay in hospital for two or five days and you will be monitored by nurses while you’re there. You’ll have a catheter in your penis, which drains urine from your bladder until you can urinate on your own again. Your doctor will tell you when to take the catheter out, which is usually after about a week.
A small percentage of patients develop a painful sore on the scrotum, where the incision for the prostate removal was made. This can be uncomfortable and is usually treated with antibiotics or a course of physiotherapy.
After the operation, you will need to keep the surgical site clean and dry at all times. You will be taught how to do this in a hospital or clinic and you will need to follow specific bathing instructions, which your doctor will explain to you. Some patients might require stitches or surgical staples, which will be removed during a follow-up appointment with your doctor. For some of our patients, a drainage tube will be left in place for a few weeks after the operation to help drain urine. You will be told when to remove the catheter, and how to care for it in the meantime.
