ROBOTIC PROSTATECTOMY
GOING HOME AFTER PROSTATE SURGERY
Dr. Jonathan Jarow
Professor of Urology, Pathology, Radiology, Reproductive Biology
Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions
Take it easy. No heavy lifting or straining for 2 weeks. Your
incisions won’t be really strong until six weeks from the
date of surgery.
You can go for short car trips, walk as much as you like, go up
steps, eat what you want. No alcohol until the catheter comes out. Showers
are fine. Don’t sit in a bathtub until the catheter
comes out.
Don’t get constipated or strain at bowel movements. If
the bowel movements are not loose, take one tablespoon of mineral
oil at night and one tablespoon of Milk of Magnesia in the morning
as long as necessary.
Everyone has small amounts of urine or
blood appear around the catheter from time to time, especially
during bowel movement. Don’t
be alarmed unless there is continuous bleeding or clots appear. If
in doubt, call me.
Some patients may develop clots in the
deep veins along the back of the calves or thighs for up to 6
weeks after surgery. This
can be a serious problem! If you get pain, tightness, redness
or swelling in the back of your calves or thighs call me and/or
your local doctor immediately.
The catheter can be removed approximately
two weeks from the date of the operation. Call your doctor as soon as you get home. If
you’re coming here, call one of the patient service coordinators
at (410 )955-6101 and tell her you need “catheter removal”. On
the morning when you come in for catheter removal, start drinking
water two hours before, so that there will be a large volume of
urine output. That way, you won’t have to sit around
drinking water when you first arrive. You will be given a
prescription for antibiotics that you should take prior to catheter
removal.
I will call you at home to review your
pathology report five to seven days after surgery. Please schedule a telephone appointment
for two to three weeks after your catheter removal. You
should plan to have a PSA test done two months following the date
of surgery. I want to know the result. Call, fax, or
send me the result if you have it done elsewhere.
Stay in touch and feel free to call with
questions or problems. You
can reach me at:
office (410) 955-3617
fax (410) 614-8487
e-mail jjarow@jhmi.edu
For medical issues occurring non-business
hours (and you feel it is vital that you speak to a physician)
please call 410-955-6070 and ask the operator to page the Urology
Resident on call.
You can plan to go back to work approximately 2 to 4 weeks after
surgery depending on how you feel and the demands of the job.
Urinary control comes back in stages. Everyone will be different. On
the day the catheter comes out, most patients have some degree
of control, anywhere from 70-80%. This means you are usually
dry when lying around, seated, or resting. You will leak
when you stand or move suddenly, cough or sneeze. Plan to
wear adult absorbent pads initially. The exercise that will
help the most in recovering urinary control is to interrupt the
urinary stream once during voiding. This is the best exercise
you can do.
Return of sexual function depends on your
age, your previous level of sexual activity, and how much of
the nerve bundles were saved at the time of surgery. Most men start to show early signs
of erection at 6 months and a return of function can be expected
to take as long as one year from surgery. There are ways
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