Side Affect from Robotic Surgery?

I had robotic surgery in Jan 06 and I'm a big supporter of the procedure based on my research and experience. However, I have had a couple of side-affect I wasn't expecting and I was interested to know if anyone else has had to deal with these: 1) Bladder neck contracture (restriction)- scar tissue blocked my urniary track at the bladder. I have had surgery twice for this problem. 2) a Ventral Hernia at the area of my incision from my robotic surgery. I'm scheduled to get this repaired in November.

I would be interested to know if any of you have experienced either issue. Thanks

They talk like robotic surgery is the perfect way to go but it wasn't perfect for you.
I have seen friends have the regular surgery and wear depends and say good bye to sex.

Of course the doc's insisted they have radiation after the surgery.

Fortunately those 2 problems I was able to overcome, so all in all I'm please with robotic surgery. The scar tissue issue has caused me problems.

Was it Da Vinci or just lapro surgery.

It was Da Vinci ....

The machine makes no difference. What makes the difference is the surgeon. Is he focused on prostate cancer surgery? Is he experienced? Is he patient or does he rush? A good surgeon will choose the right tools for the job, be it robotic prostate surgery http://www.laprp.com/article.php... , laparoscopic prostate surgery http://www.laprp.com/article.php... , or open, traditional prostate cancer surgery http://www.laprp.com . Find the right surgeon. And as for problems after prostate surgery, bladder neck contracture is known after all types: http://www.laprp.com/question_answer.php...

i totally agree and i thought i had the best doctor in the US to perform robotic surgery. in fact i travelled across the country to have my surgery. after 2 bladder neck contracture surgery, i just had surgery for a ventral hernia at the area of my prostate surgery. I hope I'm done with the side-affects of my surgery!

dgs wrote:

i totally agree and i thought i had the best doctor in the US to perform robotic surgery. in fact i travelled across the country to have my surgery. after 2 bladder neck contracture surgery, i just had surgery for a ventral hernia at the area of my prostate surgery. I hope I'm done with the side-affects of my surgery!

can you give the name of the doctor?

can you give the name of the doctor?

I'm uncomfortable with sharing that in a public forum. I would be glad to share my doctor's name with you by phone or email. If you want to discuss it, just let me know and I'll give you my cell phone. Thanks

In April of this year my PSA had gone up one full point to 4.6 and a biopsy showed a gleason score of 3+3 on two sites. The Urologist insisted on radiation or surgery, I said no and he predicted a slow and painful death for me.

I went on an walking exercise program, started eating oatmeal, nuts, raisins and ground flaxseed for breakfast. I changed some old bad sex habits and now my PSA has gone down to 3.5. That also brought down my cholesterol and blood pressure.

But my GP is now insisting I take Statins until my LDL's are below 99. I see no proof that statins lower the odds of stroke so again I say no.

It's unfortunate that your Urologist made that comment to you. I think each person has to decide for himself what to do regarding treatment. An Urologist recommends surgery, while an Oncologist recommends radiation,and so on. I called it the "Great Prostate Shootout" because everybody thinks they know best. After I spent a month doing research I determined that robotic surgery was the way to go. That may not be the right route for someone else, but it was for me. Good luck with the "natural" approach.

FACE IT, FIGHT IT, BEAT IT: SURVIVE!

Thanks dgs,

If my psa goes up and I feel I must do something then I too will go the Da Vinci route.
It seems that any way you remove the prostate the Urethra will be destroyed and a new one built from scar tissue.

Another good option is the High intensity focused Sonic beam. Where they focus several sonic beams at the prostate and at the focal point it burns out the prostate while doing no damage entering the body. The big problem is that I would have to pay $22,000 out of pocket for that. I am glad I have some time to wait and hope for new technology.

Lots of complications with scarring at the bladder neck. First, we did the dilators(2 or 3 times)-painful as hell as no positive effect. Then, moved into the TURB-transurtheal resection of bladder neck-did that 6-8 times. I would be okay for 3-4 weeks then same old,same old. So, then inserted a uroleum-went well for 3-4 months. Then, I developed stones in the uroleum-this happened twice. Went on a low oxyalate diet and this helped.Now, the scarring continues-so I have a few more surgeries. Then, he starts to coterize me a few times in the office to keep it open. Most recently, another uroleum inside the other one and extending out a bit into the bladder. The last week I've been to the doctor and ER 5times, a little flap at the bladder neck is acting like a baffle causing problems. Any suggestions, PLEASE HELP !!!!

The success of the davinci robotic prostate surgery vs conventional cancer treatment is determined by the experience and focus of the surgeon.
www.laprp.com/article.php...
http://www.laprp.com/index.php

The scarring is not necessarily the results of a poor doctor. Some people tend to scar more than others. I have had surgery twice for scar tissue at the bladder neck after my davinci robotic prostate surgery. After the last one I self-Catheterize twice a day for 3 months in order to keep the bladder neck open. It worked. It's has been over an year and I'm doing okay now.

I recently had DaVinci robotic surgery with poor results. Because of this most of my urine is going into the JP drain. It appears I will need more surgery with possible bladder neck contractures. I'll update after repairs are made.

I had the robotic surgery done a few months ago and there was a bump above and to the side of the main incision that sometimes is a bit painful when I do lifting etc , I have not been able to see the surgeon yet to ask about it ....Gene's description seems similar ...does anyone else have any experience like this ? thanks !

Had a second DaVinci robotic surgery to repair the leakage. Still suffering from incontinence and complete loss of erection.