What should you do before surgery?
Talk with a family member or friend who can help you:
- You will need someone to drive you home after surgery.
Who can drive you home? ________________________________________
- You will need to be picked up at ______ the day you leave the hospital.
- You will need help at home after surgery.
Who can help you at home? ____________________________________
- You will need someone with you during your discharge teaching.
Who can be with you? _________________________________________
We will call you 1-2 days before the surgery to tell you what time to report for surgery.
Get your home ready:
- Have a soft, comfortable place to sit when you get home.
- Have a towel ready to lift your scrotum after surgery.
- Have easy-to-digest food at home so you do not feel sick.
- Buy pain medicine like Tylenol® (acetaminophen) before surgery.
- Buy adult pads or adult briefs (diapers)
Get your body ready
- Eat healthy foods: vegetables, fruits, protein (meat, rice and beans, tofu), and fiber (whole grains, nuts, seeds).
- Stop or cut down on junk food, alcohol, and recreational drugs.
- Practice Kegel exercises.
See your doctor and get your tests done:
- See your primary care doctor to be cleared for surgery.
- Review all of your medicines.
- Make a list of your medicines: names, what they are for, how much, and how often you take them.
- Get all needed tests done.
Gather your documents:
- Bring your ID and Insurance card.
- Review your health care proxy with the people who need to know your wishes.
- Bring a copy of your health care proxy form to your pre-surgery visit or the day of surgery.
- Bring your medicine list.
The Day of Surgery
Before surgery
- We will get you ready in the "Pre-op" area.
- We will ask your name, date of birth, and the surgery you are having many times.
- You will speak with someone from the surgery team and someone from the anesthesia team.
- Anesthesia is medicine that puts you to sleep for surgery.
Where is the prostate?
During your surgery:
- Your doctor will make 6 Incisions (small cuts) in the lower part of your stomach.
- With a robot-assisted method, your doctor will remove your prostate.
- Your doctor may also check the lymph nodes (small glands) in your lower stomach and pelvis.
- To do this, they may take a small piece (biopsy) and send it to a lab for testing.
- When the surgery is done, the doctor will close the cuts with glue.
Right after surgery
You will likely spend the night in the hospital.
When you wake up from surgery you will have:
- An IV for fluids. We remove it when you can drink.
- A small oxygen tube in your nose.
- 6 small cuts in your lower stomach.
- A soft drain (JP drain) to remove fluid.
- A tube called a Foley catheter that drains pee. You will go home with it.
- Special socks (TEDs) to help blood flow in your legs.
While you are in the hospital
- We will help you get out of bed soon after surgery.
- Walking helps you heal. Try to walk 4 times a day. Sit in a chair for your meals.
- We will give you medicine to help with pain, so it is easier to move.
Going home
- Bring 2 soft pillows for the car ride home.
- They will help protect the surgery area and make you more comfortable.