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

I took me 3- 4 months before I was settlerd down. I wore the heavy flow guards, and made regulars trips to the restroom.
Kegals helped a lot as well.

The inconvenience of temporary incontinence was not as bad as the pain and unpredictable events of acute retention I experienced.

It does take time, but it is so good to not deal with BPH ANYMORE.

I took me 3- 4 months before I was settlerd down. I wore the heavy flow guards, and made regulars trips to the restroom.
Kegals helped a lot as well.

The inconvenience of temporary incontinence was not as bad as the pain and unpredictable events of acute retention I experienced.

It does take time, but it is so good to not deal with BPH ANYMORE.

Just me

Well here I sit at home at the computer 48 hours post op after my HoLEP with Dr. Akhil Das at Jefferson in Philadelphia. No pain, still some lingering effects from the anesthesia, but overall feeling pretty good! All went well and as planned, according to the good Doctor.
I arrived at Jefferson around 5:30 AM Monday for the 6 AM appointment. Normal preop discussions and I most likely waited on the bed in preop about an hour before they took me back for the procedure. It wasn't busy at first but man did that place fill up fast. Everyone was beyond wonderful, IV was started, and I waited for my time. As I was wheeled down the hall towards the operating room the anesthesia kicked in and the next thing I knew I was in recovery. Total time of surgery was about 2.5 hours.
Jefferson has a cool TV board in the waiting room and the color of your designated number changes to reflect where you are in the surgical process. My wife loved it. Dr Das called her to let her know everything went well and she met me in my room after leaving recovery.
I had a feeling of having to pee and felt very bloated but those feeling subsided pretty quickly. Foley in place and the flushing of fluids continued throughout the day and overnight. The urine in the bag maintained a light cranberry color and honestly I had no pain. Rough night trying to sleep in a busy hospital but the nurses were absolutely fantastic with their care!. Dr. Das came in the early evening to check on me. He indicated all was well, the procedure was a complete success, and that they checked my bladder function (it was fine) and that I was good to go home the next day, albeit with the foley (he had prepared me for that ahead of time since I had been self cathing for the last three months). I go back next Tuesday to have the catheter removed, primarily due to the Thanksgiving weekend. He said it was great news that the bladder function test was successful, and that he expects a pretty quick recovery with minimal issues.
It was a bit of a rough ride home yesterday (again only from the lingering anesthesia effects and the catheter being in) and I slept great last night. Have been emptying the bags routinely and just took a wonderful hot shower. I am a bit constipated and they prescribed a stool softener to make defecating a bit easier. Not quite there yet.
So here I sit, pain free, hoping next week when the catheter comes out that I will be peeing freely! I can't say enough about the process at Jefferson, it surpassed my exceptions in terms or level of care and I am anxious to get to the next step.
Thanks again to all that have posted here, it really prepared me very well for the process of HoLEP.
Happy Thanksgiving to all!!!!

So good to hear klink! Been thinking of you all week. Thanks for posting and letting us know the experience in such detail and how well things seem to be progressing. I am still scheduled for 12/18 with Dr Das, just waiting for my insurance (Anthem) to give the OK which should be good since both my regular urologist and Dr. Das have given medical necessity sign-off. Please continue to keep us updated, and know my thoughts are with you the whole way. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.

Thanks Blayneb ..... same back to you and your family. I will post next week once the Foley comes out than we will really see where I am. Thanks again for your concern...

Another Update... One week one day post surgery, I met with Dr. Das this morning at Jefferson and had the Foley removed. They filled my bladder up with fluid and I was able to pass it all (into a basin and I couldn't even tell I was passing). Bladder scan indicated no fluids remaining after voiding. Only issue is I have been dripping ever since. Wearing a pad and I have a steady drip. Soaking the pads every 1-1.5 hours. No pain however, and the residual feelings of discomfort from where the catheter was are lessening with each moment. Actually feeling pretty good!
He indicated the drips will improve with some time and this forum prepared me for this possibility. I am over-hydrating in an effort to actually be able to stand at the toilet and pee...but as of now I am just leaking out, one drip at a time. Much more comfortable sans Foley but looking forward to being able to control myself a little better.
Further updates to follow thanks all!

Well day 8 post HoLEP has turned into day 9 and I must admit I am pretty disappointed at where I am. Completely incontinent to urine, a constant drip, flow or burst and and I can't control any of it. No urge to forcibly urinate at all, I guess because due to the constant leakage the bladder is never getting full. Rough night sleeping and while sitting I am saturating a pad about every 30-45 mins. I had done kegals prior to the surgery and am repeating now but can't seem to stop the constant leaking. Hopefully this will get better, I know from posts here that it will but right now a bit down about it all.
Thanks again to all the guys that have posted here, none of this is a complete surprise but I guess I had hoped for better post - Foley.
Will continue to update!

Hi Klink, real sorry to hear you're having this issue. Too bad it is marring what up to now has been a pretty positive experience. I know it's very hard to remain patient in these situations (I know it is for me) but I hope this starts to move in a more positive direction for you soon. If I may ask, had you done kegels for a while before the surgery, or had you just started them pre-surgery? In any event I will continue to think of you and pull for the best.

BTW this was me posting the previous message (forgot to log in!!).

Thanks Blay, I am sure i will get through it, I only started Kegels prior to surgery about three weeks ago. hoping for improvement soon....thanks for your kind words.

Another update. Spoke to Dr. Das last night and explained what was going on. He indicated that I was in the 15% of HoLEP patients that experience IC after surgery. He suggested kegels kegels kegels and that is what I am doing. He also suggested that after laying down for a time, to get up and do the kegels as I felt the urge to pee. Well when I just got up this morning I was able to do that and to interrupt the stream as he suggested. At least I had an urge and was able to interrupt it. So some progress. He indicated with time this will improve....

Any other suggestions on how to relieve the IC would be greatly appreciated guys!

Dr Knudsen performed the HoLEP surgery on me two days ago. So far it's going as he said it would. I had an overnight in the hospital with catheter and was draining pretty clear. Leaking blood around the catheter was pretty much but catheter was removed yesterday morning 11.29.17. Wearing pads...I am having the leakage he said that I would. Not much pain except from the catheter. Urination going well with a trace of blood, pieces and parts of the prostate still exiting the bladder a little. Hopefully, this leakage will subside and life will be better. I like the Doc, did you end going with him?

I am 57 and had BPH. I had HOLEP done 3 weeks ago by Dr Rivera at Mayo Clinic Rochester, and am very happy with the outcome. I was pissing like a race horse the next day. There was post-op dripping, so I wore a diaper or pad for the first week. After that, no problems with incontinence. I had some blood in my urine for two weeks, and then that stopped I was able to start running again. It's so nice to be able to take a nice piss, empty my bladder, and sleep through the night.

Update: Sill having a very strong, almost painful urge to urinate upon standing, I haven't been able to completely control it. Usually after about 10-15 seconds the urge will pass but not before a quick "squirt' into my pads. Sometimes the volume of that quick squirt will be so fast and of such volume that I leak to the side of the pads and onto my undershorts. No BIG messes yet buy causes my some anxiety. Trying to remember to do the kegal exercises to help things along. Had a Urine sample today to check for a UTI but no results yet. I will continue to follow this forum. Thank you to all who post.