Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsBeforeProcedures for CancerProcedures for BPHAfter
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Before
Procedures for Cancer
Procedures for BPH
After
There are a few prostate surgery types and techniques, and what you can expect from your procedure depends on which one your surgeon uses. An incision may or may not be required; all, some, or none of prostate gland may be removed; and some surrounding tissue may or may not be excised as well—just to name a few differences.
The choice in prostate surgery largely comes down to whether you are having it to treatprostate canceror the urinary symptoms or complications of an enlarged prostate, a.k.a. benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).
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Before the Surgery
On the day of your prostate surgery, you will arrive at the hospital or surgical center, check-in, and sign an anesthesia and surgery consent form.
After that, you will go to a pre-operative room where you can expect the following:
There are two types of anesthesia used for prostate surgery:
During Surgery for Prostate Cancer
Since the prostate gland normally connects the bladder to the urethra—the tube inside the penis—the surgeon must also reattach the bladder to the urethra once the prostate gland is removed.
A radical prostatectomy can be performed in three different ways:
A radical prostatectomy generally proceeds in the following fashion:
During Surgery for BPH
The vast majority of BPH surgeries are performed using a transurethral technique, of which there are several types. With each, a tube-like instrument called a cystoscope or resectoscope reaches the prostate gland via the urethra.
Some transurethral techniques include:
The details of each of these procedures obviously differ. As an example, a TURP proceeds with the following steps:
Less commonly, a simple prostatectomy may be performed to treat BPH. This surgery consists of removing the core of the prostate gland while leaving its capsule or shell intact. This option is often reserved for large prostate glands.
Procedures for BPH may be done as outpatient or require an overnight hospital stay.
After the Surgery
In the recovery room after prostate surgery, you will wake up from the anesthesia or sedating medication. A nurse will monitor your vital signs and manage any post-operative symptoms like pain. Once you are awake and ready, you will be discharged (possible if surgery done with cystoscopy for BPH) and likely overnight if for prostate cancer. In the latter case, you will be taken to a hospital room where you will stay until released.
During your hospital stay, the following will occur:
If you have no temperature and are keeping down fluids, walking around, and have made the switch to oral pain medication, your surgeon will likely give you the OK to be discharged home.
As you recover there, you will have various post-operative instructions to follow related to keeping your incision site(s) clean, physical activity, and diet. You will also be told when to follow-up for your catheter removal (around one to two weeks).
Avoid driving until you are off all pain medications and your catheter has been removed.
It is imperative that you follow all of the instructions you are given closely and contact your surgeon with any questions or concerns.
How to Care For a Surgical Incision
A Word From Verywell
When undergoing prostate surgery, it’s important to select a highly skilled surgeon, preferably one with extensive experience performing hundreds or even thousands of procedures like the one you’re planning. The more skilled the surgeon, the less likely you are to experience complications like urinary incontinence and sexual side effects (most notably, erectile dysfunction due to nerve damage).
6 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American Cancer Society.Surgery for Prostate Cancer.Johns Hopkins Medicine.Radical Prostatectomy.McVary KT.Surgical treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). O’Leary MP, ed. UpToDate. Waltham, MA: UpToDate.Johns Hopkins Medicine.Transurethral Resection of the Prostate (TURP).North Shore University Health System.Your Guide To Recovery After Radical Prostatectomy Surgery.University of Wisconsin Health.Frequently Asked Questions About Robotic Prostatectomy.
6 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American Cancer Society.Surgery for Prostate Cancer.Johns Hopkins Medicine.Radical Prostatectomy.McVary KT.Surgical treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). O’Leary MP, ed. UpToDate. Waltham, MA: UpToDate.Johns Hopkins Medicine.Transurethral Resection of the Prostate (TURP).North Shore University Health System.Your Guide To Recovery After Radical Prostatectomy Surgery.University of Wisconsin Health.Frequently Asked Questions About Robotic Prostatectomy.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
American Cancer Society.Surgery for Prostate Cancer.Johns Hopkins Medicine.Radical Prostatectomy.McVary KT.Surgical treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). O’Leary MP, ed. UpToDate. Waltham, MA: UpToDate.Johns Hopkins Medicine.Transurethral Resection of the Prostate (TURP).North Shore University Health System.Your Guide To Recovery After Radical Prostatectomy Surgery.University of Wisconsin Health.Frequently Asked Questions About Robotic Prostatectomy.
American Cancer Society.Surgery for Prostate Cancer.
Johns Hopkins Medicine.Radical Prostatectomy.
McVary KT.Surgical treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). O’Leary MP, ed. UpToDate. Waltham, MA: UpToDate.
Johns Hopkins Medicine.Transurethral Resection of the Prostate (TURP).
North Shore University Health System.Your Guide To Recovery After Radical Prostatectomy Surgery.
University of Wisconsin Health.Frequently Asked Questions About Robotic Prostatectomy.
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