MY RELATIONSHIP TO DA VINCI SURGERY: Patient

MY CONDITION: Prostate Cancer

TYPE OF PROCEDURE I HAD: da Vinci Radical prostatectomy

DATE OF PROCEDURE: Nov 1, 2008

MY SURGEON: Dr. David B Samadi

HOSPITAL WHERE MY PROCEDURE WAS PERFORMED: Mount Sinai Medical Center

OTHER TREATMENTS I CONSIDERED BEFORE DA VINCI SURGERY:
The first urologist that I saw said, "Well, there's radiation, or there's seeds or there's surgery." And none of those really appealed to me.

THE BIGGEST CONCERNS I HAD ABOUT TREATMENT:
The two top things I'm sure most guys are concerned about are: "how am I going to be able to pee," and "am I going to be able to have sex"? So those were my concerns as well: how long is the recovery time; what effect is the surgery going to have on my workload, because I'm a very busy person.

WHY I CHOSE DA VINCI SURGERY:
Surgery became the ideal solution because the only other options were to do nothing or to do radiation or seeds.

MY PAIN AND/OR DISCOMFORT LEVEL:
As far as the pain goes, I took painkillers, but not the prescribed painkillers. I took a less potent kind of painkiller for a week, I think, maybe a week after the surgery. And then I went off it; I didn't need them any more.

ABOUT MY RECOVERY TIME:
There's no change in my life. My sex life has not been affected at all, and neither has my urinary function. It was a little bit uncomfortable at first, wearing the catheter for a week, so it was a very small price to pay. Suddenly, I was taking the stairs two at a time again; back to walking on my treadmill or walking outside. I would say we pushed the envelope a little bit on the sex.

HOW DA VINCI SURGERY COMPARED TO MY PREVIOUS EXPERIENCES OR PRECONCEPTIONS OF SURGERY:
I read that some people are flat on their backs for 6 weeks. But not this particular kind of surgery---robotic. Having been in the loop now, I have a number of friends who have had different kinds of prostate surgery over the years, 5 years ago, 10 years ago, who had a really hard time. Some of them have completely lost their potency, and some of them have had bladder problems, and so forth, so I was really concerned.

I WOULD RECOMMEND DA VINCI SURGERY TO MY FRIENDS OR FAMILY MEMBERS!

I chose the da Vinci Prostatectomy, because I had been given a kind of menu of choices of what the options were. To backtrack a little bit, I was diagnosed with Stage One prostate cancer back in September, and my PSA had been at 5.5, and it was going up to 6.0, and eventually went up to 8-something. And so I was in a quandry, and the first urologist that I saw said, "Well, there's radiation, or there's seeds or there's surgery." And none of those really appealed to me. I'm kind of an alternative guy.
Friends of mine persuaded me that I should really deal with this quickly and just get the cancer out of my body. I didn't want to put toxins into my body, which is what the radiation seemed to be doing. I had also heard there were many cases of side effects. I think surgery became the ideal solution because the only other options were to do nothing or to do radiation or seeds. Since I was dead-set against doing radiation or seeds, I had to find the surgeon.
The two top things I'm sure most guys are concerned about are how am I going to be able to pee, and am I going to be able to have sex? So those were my concerns as well: how long is the recovery time; what effect is the surgery going to have on my workload, because I'm a very busy person.
It happened that I was able to schedule the surgery in a time I was off for a couple of weeks, so there was really no work lost. But down the road, I read that some people are flat on their backs for 6 weeks. But not this particular kind of surgery---robotic. Having been in the loop now, I have a number of friends who have had different kinds of prostate surgery over the years, 5 years ago, 10 years ago, who had a really hard time. Some of them have completely lost their potency, and some of them have had bladder problems, and so forth, so I was really concerned. My wife was concerned, and we just really wanted to make sure we were doing the right thing.
There's no change in my life. My sex life has not been affected at all, and neither has my urinary function. It was a little bit uncomfortable at first, wearing the catheter for a week, so it was a very small price to pay. Suddenly, I was taking the stairs two at a time again; back to walking on my treadmill or walking outside. I would say we pushed the envelope a little bit on the sex. They said 6-8 weeks, so..... Don't tell.
As far as the pain goes, I took painkillers, but not the prescribed painkillers. I took a less potent kind of painkiller for a week, I think, maybe a week after the surgery. And then I went off it; I didn't need them any more.
I would turn around and say that to any friend of mind. I would say, "Get rid of the cancer; it's an unpredictable thing." Supposedly, it's a slow-growing cancer, but every case is individual. You have one body, and you have a chance with this kind of surgery to get rid of the cancer. So if you have early stage of cancer, and you have an opportunity to take advantage of robotic-assisted prostatectomy, I would unhesitatingly say do this. If I had to do this again, I would do it again, except sooner.