Experiences with Holmium Laser Enucleation of the Prostate, HoLEP, Laser Surgery

Congrats!! My doctor told me there were no restrictions on sexual activity by 4 weeks.

Hi
I had holium laser surgery 5 weeks ago. It went well. I got cleared to have sex After 4 weeks. I had sex 3 times but now I have a lot. Of burning and pain. Did I hurt my prostate or will it past in time.
Please let. Me know

The pain and burning should past.
I can hurt my prostate from having sex 3 times in a week

Quick update on my situation. I had an elevated PSA of 17 (down from 40 in late August when I went into retention and an ER visit) at a recent visit and Dr. Das wanted to rule out cancer, so I had a  TRUS performed and samples taken from the prostate for biopsy. After an anxious week of waiting for the results, I found out Monday that they were negative! My prostate is about 80 grams and I am scheduled for HoLEP with Dr. Das on November 20th. Can't say enough about his care and personal attention so far...looking forward to the procedure. I will update as things get closer. Thanks again for all the support from this board!

Hi I have an appointment with Dr. Das on 11/3. Would love to contact him via email ahead of time as you did. How did you get his email address (I doubt his email addresses can be posted here or I'd ask for it). Thanks for any help.

I am still doing great. You will not be disappointed. It is important to not get too critical. As long as you are in a major medical center, you should be fine. Honestly, its not worth going to another city if you have a competant surgeon in town.

Can someone answer this for me

Thanks for the info and glad you're doing fine. I do have Dr Bandi locally (and he is well thought of it seems) but as I understand it, he has only done several hundred of these whereas Dr Das has done thousands, so even though the travel will be a bit of a burden and extra expense, I think I will have more confidence due to his vast experience. In any event, I should know more after I meet with him on 11/3. I will update my experience here as I progress through this.

I googled Dr Das at Jefferson and found his email address. I don't really want to list it here as I don't think the moderators will allow it. Looks like you are two days out from your appointment with him so at this point it probably wouldn't gain you anything anyway. Sorry about that!

I lived in the DC area for 25 years and know Georgetown MedStar's excellent reputation....I don't think you could go wrong with Dr. Bandi. All accounts of his practice have been extremely positive from what I have read. It certainly would be more convenient for the pre-surgery testing and after surgery follow up appointments. If he has to leave the catheter in after surgery for a few days as well (which Dr. Das prepared me for due to the size of my prostate) it would be much more convenient to be closer to the office for removal and if any complications would occur.

That being said I cannot say enough about the personal attention from Dr. Das so far. Jefferson is in downtown Philly and its a busy practice.....but I have never felt like my wait or patient attention was lost in the shuffle, in fact I have experienced quite the opposite. I would typically wait an hour to hour and fifteen minutes to be seen at my local urologist out here in the country (EXTREMELY frustrating!) after my scheduled appointment time. I can drive to Jefferson in and hour and ten minutes and maybe wait ten to be seen! Plus I really do think Dr. Das is one of the best Urologists nationally when it comes to HoLep and his vast experience with the procedure. Plus he is the most down to earth physician and one of the nicest guys I have ever met. I believe you will be impressed, and then ultimately the choice will be yours. God luck, please let us know how things go!

It's now 4 weeks from my HoLEP procedure by Dr. Marwan El Tayeb of Temple, Texas. So far, I'm doing very well without any problem whatsoever. Have dry ejaculation as expected which I will call "normal". I will have a follow-up appointment with Dr. El Tayeb this coming Nov. 17th. I will say this to all those who have hesitations, "Just Do It" and you won't regret reaping the benefits. Good luck to all.

Thanks Klink. As soon as I asked the question re; email address I new it was dumb (they wouldn't allow it) so no problem!

I did see Dr Das yesterday and as you say he was great. Very personable, frank and right to the point. I had brought all my records from Dr Laurent my Urologist here in Reston VA which he reviewed. He was curious as to how I found out about him so I explained the research I had done and this discussion forum and the fact that several former patients of his spoke very highly of him. I also explained that my urologist here, as soon as I told him I wanted HoLEP (when he told me it is time for surgery back on Oct 4th) immediately told me to go to Dr Das (who was flattered and appreciative of my urologist).

After discussing my situation, my recent history with urinary retention, emergency room visit and catheterization, and my 150 cc prostate, he went over different options (including possibly going to Dr Bandi who he said he knew). He concluded that going through more tests was not necessary ("I don't want to put you through that" he said) and that we should just go ahead and schedule the HoLEP, which we did for 12/18 at Jefferson. His only concern with my situation was the length of my prostate (8.7 x 6.8 x 6.2 cm) which may be too long for the instruments. He explained therefore there was an outside chance (like 1 in about 600 of the patients he has done) he would have to make an incision to complete the procedure and unfortunately wouldn't know until he was in me. So I gave him permission to do that if necessary (which we both of course hope will not be the case). So since there may be a possible complication in my case, and after meeting him and getting a really good feeling about hm and his nurse Darlene, even though it will be more difficult and expensive to go to Philly (and yes stay 3 days with a catheter to make sure I heal well) I am opting to go with Dr. Das.

I really appreciate all you've shared and your perspective Klink, and will do my best to keep you and everyone here updated as to my progress. I'm a little apprehensive to be honest, but after meeting Dr Das, and getting all the different input from the great folks on this forum, I am cautiously optimistic that this is my best and probably only option.

More to come!

Glad the visit went well , Blayneb, I knew it would! I think you made a great decision and I am sure the experience with Dr. Das will be exceptional. I go in for my pre-op screening on Weds. and then am scheduled for the HoLEP with Dr. Das on 11/20. I will be about a month ahead you going through this experience and I will be sure to post my experiences on here as I progress forward. Glad to help as so many before me did for me on this forum!

I had HoLEP almost 4 weeks ago. Recovery went excellent with no pain other than minor burning when urinating for a few days. Although I am 71 years old, I have been taking Viagra to help with erections for sex, but was still getting the morning salutes. But I have a question. Before HoLEP I had this experience: After sex, my penis would be relaxed, somewhat contracted and limp and appear smaller than before sex. Then after a few days of having sex, 3 or 4 days later, I would notice that the penis started to become fuller, heavier and somewhat longer with an increased desire for sex. After HoLEP, my penis remains limp and contracted but I still do receive morning salutes. Is this normal?

There is a period of time where you feel fine, then you experience what seems like a set back. You are fine. Give it some time . I believe some of it is the scab is sloughing off.
Just me

I can’t address the viagra issue. I can say after holep my erections improved.