No DaVinci For Me

SubicSquid
SubicSquid Member Posts: 11
edited March 2014 in Prostate Cancer #1
My surgeon scheduled me for open surgery on October 22. He chose open because of my huge stomach and because of the difficulty in doing even DaVinci surgery on an obese patient (there were also a couple of concerns about the high Gleason score (3+5) and an Ecoli infection I just got over). But, because of my desire to have DaVinci, he scheduled a consult for me today with a very experienced DaVinci surgeon. Unfortunately for me, he without hesitation told me I could not be done with the robot because of the thickness of the fat on my stomach. So, I will proceed with the open surgery and keep everybody informed as to how it goes. Since most men on this site have had the DaVinci, it will be interesting to see the differences in my recovery, if any. I wish I had a year or so to lose 100 pounds, but unfortunately the cancer won't wait. I have been doing Kegel exercises daily and will increase my exercise activity to get ready. I am going to be optomistic and hope for the best. Both doctors told me that results are still about the same with both types of surgery even though DaVinci is becoming the way to go for most people. We shall see.

Comments

  • WHW
    WHW Member Posts: 189
    #2
    Good Luck with Your Surgery
    Sorry about the da Vinci, but it sounds like you have a crack team on your side.

    There is a lot you can do to make the recovery go smoothly. Try to do as much walking as you can before the surgery. Doing the kegels is good, but don't overdo it. It's like working out, you don't want the muscles fatigued just when you need them.

    The biggest thing I did was to go on the post surgery diet they gave me about 10 days before the surgery. That way I had my digestive system and GI tract in sync with the slow moving response I was going to have after the drugs from the surgery. It is all about soft foods that are easy to digest and so on. I am sure they have told you about it.

    The gas and bloating and constipation are all things that add up to a miserable recovery. If you take that out of the mix things are a whole lot easier.

    I swear it helped me. I was up walking within 4 hours after the surgery. The next day when discharged I was walking 4 times a day about 3/4 mile each time. Never had a need for pain meds, never got the constipation and bloating and no problem with gas.

    I realize that your recovery and time in the hospital will be a little longer and different, but I think these things will help.

    Let us know when your surgery is scheduled.

    The prayers and blessing for you and your family have already started,

    Sonny
  • lshick
    lshick Member Posts: 62
    #3
    DaVinci vs Open
    SS,

    Not to worry. The skill and experience of your surgeon are FAR more important than the technology. There's no statistically significant difference in outcomes between open and robotic that I have been able to find.

    Good luck, and we're pulling for you.

    Larry
  • saoco
    saoco Member Posts: 43
    #4
    Open it is wish you the
    Open it is,I wish you the best the only difference will be your recovery time will be a little longer than with DaVinci but it is ok.
  • NM
    NM Member Posts: 214
    #5
    saoco said:

    Open it is wish you the
    Open it is,I wish you the best the only difference will be your recovery time will be a little longer than with DaVinci but it is ok.

    Cancer out
    Hi and I wish you all the best and agree that with an experienced surgeon you will do fine.

    In my opinion the main thing is to get than damn cancer out of you.

    Wish you and your family the best results possible,God bless and good luck

    Nick
  • SubicSquid
    SubicSquid Member Posts: 11
    #6
    NM said:

    Cancer out
    Hi and I wish you all the best and agree that with an experienced surgeon you will do fine.

    In my opinion the main thing is to get than damn cancer out of you.

    Wish you and your family the best results possible,God bless and good luck

    Nick

    Thanks for all of the
    Thanks for all of the support. It makes it easier having someplace to share the experience.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    #7
    This comment has been removed by the Moderator

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