About the hospitalization process for radical prostatectomy

Generally speaking, you will be admitted to the hospital the day before surgery and stay in the hospital for 2-3 nights (including the night of surgery). Laparoscopic or robotic laparoscopic radical prostatectomy usually allows you to be discharged from the hospital on the first day after surgery (not counting the day of surgery), and recovery is faster than traditional retropubic radical prostatectomy. Most patients are sent directly back to the general ward after resuscitation in the recovery room and do not need to be treated in the intensive care unit (ICU).

Postoperative pain relief can be achieved by inserting an epidural catheter, a thin catheter inserted through the back into the cavity outside the spinal cord. Painkillers are given through the catheter to paralyze the nerves so that the patient does not feel pain. In addition, a patient-controlled intravenous analgesia pump can be used to control postoperative pain. When you need painkillers, you press a button on the analgesia pump. Once you are able to eat liquids, you can switch to oral painkillers. Some doctors prefer to use anesthetics, such as acetaminophen (such as Tylenol, Benadryl, or Priligy) with codeine or oxycodone hydrochloride and acetaminophen tablets. Other doctors prefer to use strong anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ketorolac tromethamine (such as ketorolac), because they do not affect bowel function.

During your stay in the hospital, the nurse will teach you how to use the urine bag and help you get up and into bed. Once the pain is well controlled with oral pain medication and your gastrointestinal function has recovered, you can go home to recuperate. When you are discharged from the hospital, the catheter will need to be left in place for 7-14 days to allow the bladder and urethra to heal fully. At home, you can gradually resume your normal diet and increase your activity. Depending on the procedure you had, it will take about a month to fully recover.

After the catheter is removed, the doctor will teach you to do Kegel exercises to train your pelvic floor muscles, which will effectively help you regain urinary control. After the catheter is removed, most patients can almost completely regain urinary control through training. Serum PSA should be checked 4-6 weeks after surgery to see if the serum PSA has dropped to an undetectable level.