Robotic surgery patient experience
John Ayer shares his robotic surgery experience
Incontinence? Impotency? Did they get all the cancer or had it spread?
These are the questions that came to mind when I was told that I had prostate cancer. I have always been extremely healthy, never having missed a day of work in over forty years. I retired 2 1/2 years ago at age 60 and was quite shocked when, in August of 2006 during a routine prostate exam, a suspicious area was found in my prostate. I had undergone regular prostate exams every six months for several years, during which time my PSA had risen slowly and reached 5.1. I had two biopsies over the next few months plus a second opinion from another urologist. I was diagnosed with Gleason 6 prostate cancer in November '06. My wife, Jeannie, and I educated ourselves turning to the internet, books, and articles and carefully considered the options available to us. Should I have surgery, radiation (seeding), or do nothing?
After meeting with Dr. Shah for the first time, Jeannie and I both felt that minimally invasive robotic surgery was the answer for me. Dr. Shah spent a great deal of time with us explaining the procedure and answered all our questions. We returned home that day feeling that we had found a great surgeon. We scheduled the surgery for December 29, 2006.
The surgery was non-eventful with no problems whatsoever. Dr. Shah and his team of professionals kept my wife and daughter informed as to what was happening in the operating room. Afterwards, Dr. Shah came and talked to Jeannie in person and assured her that everything went well and as expected. I spent 24 hours in the hospital during which time the nursing staff had me up and walking. The walking started about 4 hours after I was taken to my room. The nursing staff was most helpful and professional.
After being released from the hospital, Jeannie and I returned to our home on Lake Hartwell which is a two hour drive from Atlanta. We were a little apprehensive about being so far from Dr. Shah and worried about what we would do if I needed medical attention during the middle of the night. Fortunately, we had no problems. The donut cushion came in handy during the ride home and was used often afterwards. The liquid diet was not very appetizing but only lasted for two days. Popsicles and jello made it bearable. Also, the catheter was quite awkward but again, it only lasted a week. Removing it was not painful at all as I had expected.
Incontinence was never an issue although urination is different and has taken time to adjust to the change. I wore Depends for the first week after the catheter was removed even though I really did not need them. Impotence has been an issue but is improving slowly and hopefully, will continue to improve with time. Another problem I never encountered was pain. I only took ibuprofen and never needed the prescribed pain pills. I was also able to return many of the purchased items as I did not need or use them. Recovery time was very short. I was feeling great after two weeks although I did limit physical activities for a while longer.
In my opinion, the biopsies and the anticipation of the surgery were much worse than the actual surgery. We feel very fortunate to have found Dr. Shah. He is a very compassionate, capable, and caring surgeon and we would highly recommend him to anyone facing prostate cancer. Also, the staff at St. Joseph's hospital is highly competent and we found everyone to be most helpful. I will be glad to talk to anyone who is facing prostate surgery about my experience.
For more information about robotic surgery, call 1-866-SJ-ROBOT (1-866-757-6268).
