What Can You Expect After Prostate Surgery?

Your doctor has decided that surgery to correct your prostate problems is indicated. What can you expect with the surgery and your recover time? Your hospital stay will depend on the surgery you have and how quickly your body recovers from that surgery. Once your surgery is complete, you will be hooked up to a special catheter through the opening in the penis to drain any urine into a collection bag. It is called a Foley catheter and has a small balloon that is filled with water to hold it in the bladder. This catheter is left in for several days. Bladder spasms may occur the day after surgery. These are painful but normally disappear eventually. The catheter used to drain the bladder causes these spasms.

Antibiotics may be given to you while you are in the hospital to prevent infection. Some doctors prefer to wait and see if an infection develops before giving antibiotics. The alarming rates of antibiotic resistant infections are making doctors more cautious in prescribing this medicine.

After surgery, you may see blood spots or small blood clots in the urine. If your bladder is being flushed with water, your urine may be red until the water irrigation is stopped. Bleeding is normal after prostate surgery and should clear up by the time you leave the hospital. You will be asked to drink up to eight cups of water a day to help flush out the bladder and promote faster healing.

When you return home after surgery there are some things you should do and some that things you should not do after the procedure. When you get home you should continue to drink a minimum of eight cups of water to keep flushing out the bladder. You should eat a balanced diet to prevent constipation. It is important you don't strain when having a bowel movement. If you find you are constipated you should ask your doctor if you can take a laxative. You also should not do any heavy lifting after prostate surgery and you should not drive or run heavy equipment or machinery.

After your surgery you will find that your stream of urine will grow stronger but it could take a while until you can urinate normally. Once the catheter is removed urine will pass over the wound and cause some discomfort. You may also feel a sense of urgency to urinate. The problem will gradually go away and you will be back to normal urination in a few months.

Another problem that may be experienced after surgery is incontinence. You may have some temporary problems but seldom does it become a permanent problem. Doctors have discovered that if a patient suffers from incontinence the patient has probably been experiencing incontinence before the surgery. The bladder should regain full function after the operation and a normal recovery time.

You may experience some bleeding after the scab inside the bladder loosens. Blood may appear again in the urine but will normally stop if you drink plenty of liquid and rest in bed.

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