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By December 2004, my PSA had gone up significantly - jumping from 3.5 to 4.2 to 6.4 over about a year-and-a-half. This led to a biopsy, which in turn confirmed that at 59 years of age, I had prostate cancer. With Gleason scores of 4+3 and 3+3 and no detectable tumor, I was a stage "T1c" according to the urologist. I wasn't necessarily shocked - in fact, I half expected this one day because it ran in the family. Yet, I knew I had to do something about it. I spent the next few days reading and researching everything I could find to determine my treatment options. I even called one of my brothers with some physician friends in Phoenix to see what they might recommend. Everything seemed to lead my wife and I to one obvious conclusion. Non-surgical options seemed only to delay the inevitable. Don't fool around with it - get it cut out. Laproscopic surgery seemed the least invasive, the safest at avoiding incontinence and impotency issues, and I would be able to return to daily activities sooner. I found that two surgeons at UCIMC performed laproscopic radical prostatectomies using a da Vinci robot. I spoke to both offices, and after meeting with Dr. Ornstein, I knew he was the perfect choice. Surgery was scheduled for the following month, February 2005. All of the staff at UCIMC were attentive and very professional. Once in the pre-op room, I was fitted up with an IV and some interesting things were strapped around each leg. I was told these devices would be inflated and deflated to keep circulation in my legs. I was also told that during surgery I would be in a downward slope - something called the Trendelenburg postion, which places the chest and head lower than the abdomen and legs. The purpose of this is to decrease bleeding, as well as allowing easier robotic access. Because of this, she added, there is increased edema to the head and face, and they would be putting an ointment in my eyes and covering them to guard against corneal abrasion, so when I awoke, my eyes might be blurry. It was interesting to hear this level of detail, and it helped me continue to focus away from the impending surgery itself. Then, Dr. Ornstein came in to see if I had any questions. I considered asking if he'd re-read the robot manual, but figured this might be the wrong time to be a smart aleck. Also, the anesthesiologist was great, easing me gently into that state of haziness. Surgery lasted about 4 hours, and after an overnight stay, I was released the following day - less than 24 hours after the surgery. Side effects included the discomfort of cramping, feeling bloated and sore - as though I'd done about 1,000 situps. Dr. Ornstein had done a hernia repair at the same time, so that probably left things even more sensitive. Walking around the house seemed to ease much of this. The catheter was a major annoyance, and I could hardly wait to get it removed. Trying to sleep with it was the most difficult, but I finally found that hanging it on the side of the bed worked best. Dr. Ornstein was in contact with me, calling a few days after my release to see how I was doing, and again the following week to let me know the pathology was back and the margins were clear - they got it all. In a little over three weeks I was probably back to 75% of my old self, and at four-to-five weeks was probably at about 95%, with improvement each day after that. I had very few problems with incontinence, and attained total bladder control by the 5th week - apparently, well ahead of the curve. ED was different matter. Having been on blood pressure medication for several years, ED was already a small part of my life (no pun intended). Even with nerve-sparing surgery, I had been told that it might take 6 to 12 to 18 months to regain my previous level of erectile function - that it was different for everyone. It ended up taking 11 months to reach this milestone without the use of Viagra, but I was as happy as could be - both to be alive and fully functioning. It's now been over 2-1/2 years since the surgery, and my wife and I are very satisfied customers. Eric Anderson |
