Saturday, January 19, 2013

The Operation

Some people have admonished me again for not writing on my blog and they are right. I have not written anything since August, 2012. I hope I will do better.

People are actually interested in knowing details about my operation. So, I will tell you what I know. for further details and for things that I may not want to know, you can visit www.daVinciprostatectomy.com.

I had a laparoscopic prostatectomy. It all started innocently enough with a routine annual physical exam. My PSA level was slightly elevated at 3.7. Follow up is usually recommended after the PSA exceeds 4.0, but the DRE (digital rectal exam) revealed a slight abnormality on one lobe of the prostate. My doctor said that I could wait for three months and see what another PSA might reveal, or he could send me to a urologist. I said that I wasn't too keen on seeing a urologist, but if it was what he recommended then I would.... Before I finished my sentence, he said, "Okay, let's make an appointment for you." Off I went to the urologist who did his own DRE. That means that they stick a finger up your butt and feel the prostate. He said that based on that exam and the PSA, I should have a biopsy to find out if there really was cancer present. This was beginning to sound ominous. A biopsy is performed by sticking a thin probe into the rectum, that has a camera for ultrasound, a needle for a numbing agent and 12 needles to take prostate samples. The best description that I heard of the procedure is that it is uncomfortable, but bearable. It only takes a few minutes.

Of the twelve samples taken, the analysis showed cancer in about five or six of them, if I remember correctly. Now what to do. There is external radiation, internal radiation (seeds) or surgery to remove the prostate. Surgery is the only option that offers the choice of getting the source of the cancer out of the body. A CT scan and a bone scan showed that it hadn't spread beyond the prostate, so that seemed like the smartest option.

My doctor likes to do these early in the morning so we had to arrive at Rochester General at 6:00 a.m. People were friendly and efficient. I was moved to a couple of stations where IV was inserted and vital signs recorded. Anne was instructed where to go during surgery and given a cell phone to await calls from the operating room (from the staff, not from me obviously). In the holding room, the doctor appeared and told Anne that he would speak to her after I was done. I was put onto the daVinci cart and Anne was sent off to the surgical waiting area. The daVinci cart is designed so that a part of it falls down to a 45 degree angle so that your intestines slide in the direction of your head to give more room for the surgery. [I'm only saying because people wanted to know.] When they got me on the cart, the anesthesiologist took my blood pressure and said it was a little high at 177/105. I said "You think. I wonder why that could be." They started rolling me down the hall and he said, "I'll give you something to relax you."

My next sensation was that I was dreaming that I was in some kind of a train rolling into a station and that there were all these people running around dressed in blue. As the fog cleared I realized that there were actual people in blue scrubs running around and that I had arrived in the recovery room. I figured that since they weren't dressed in red I probably wasn't in Hell and since they weren't dressed in white, I probably wasn't in heaven either, so I must still be on earth. I never did get to see the daVinci robot with which the surgery was performed.

I arrived in my room with six small incisions across my abdomen and a catheter in me. The catheter and surgical staples were removed yesterday (Friday, January 18, 2013). I was fed a totally liquid diet until dinner the day after surgery which arrived a short time before I was released.

I was given good care in the hospital and was grateful for the people that came and stayed with Anne as she waited. (Linda T, Art, Marian, Andy and Mary Kay). I was also grateful to those who called with prayers,  wishes, visited at home, sent food and promised ice cream when I was feeling ready for it.

It was so wonderful to sleep in my own bed the first night home from the hospital. Anne has taken very good care of me and I have even had three visits from Lifetime Care nurses, an outfit associated with the hospital. The problem now will be to learn to control urinary function with external sphincter muscles since the prostate which controlled secondary urinary control mechanisms is gone. Everyone is different. Some men regain control after several weeks, others after many months. I think I may not report on the progress of that.

So, there you have it. Prostate removal from my horizontal (through most of the proceedings) point of view. I hope you have been entertained by this narrative and I hope that if you are male or know any that you care about, you will urge a regular PSA test and/or digital rectal exam.