Pelvic sling surgery

[Bcgkelly]

I had my prostate cancer surgery in May 18 and am still suffering from incontinence & overactive bladder. Meeting a urologist next week and am wondering if anyone had a pelvic sling implanted and how it went. From what I know it won’t deal with the overactive bladder but may deal with the Incontinence which is mild to mid. Heard there can be severe side effects and am nervous about the operation as I developed sepsis after surgery last time.

[tango65]

It could help to control the stress incontinence.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/310...

[jimreilly]

I had it several years ago and it helped a lot with the incontinence I was left with after an RP--not perfect, but at least a 90% improvement; I have no side effects other than another temporary dip in sexual functioning that lasted a few months, then was OK; not everyone has had such good results, but I'm sure glad I did it

[kaptank]

I had one in 2002 after a RP that left me incontinent. No discernible change and no help whatsoever. But it turned out that my incontinence was caused by a surgical mistake: permanent sutures where dissolving ones were necessary in connecting urethra to bladder; compounded by radiation to the area. My lesson: make sure you have a full diagnosis of the causes of incontinence. That means putting a scope up there to see there is no obstruction, measuring bladder pressure and capacity etc.

I too have overactive bladder. You should be taking meds which at least slow it down. Oxybutin is an older one, mirabegron is recent. I do a half dose of oxy and a full of mira daily. Also urinary alkalizers can settle a bladder.

In my case a competent urologist and an artificial urinary sphincter helped. Mine is an extreme case where the sphincter muscle was effectively destroyed, but be aware there are many causes of incontinence that a sling won't fix. Choose your urologist more carefully than I did.

[Bcgkelly in reply to kaptank]

Thank you very much for your reply. I had cystoscopy in December and a Eurodynamics test last week. I am meeting the Urologist next week and wanted to prepare. So far I’ve tried Betmiga, Vesitrim & Cialis but they haven’t been much help at all. I will look up the drugs you have mentioned.

[Engraver68]

Hi

After Prostate removal and salvage radiation I had really bad incontinence. I have a very active lifestyle and thankfully I was able to have an AUD (artificial urinary device) sphincter valve fitted by surgical implant.

After now seven years I am still very dry I wear 1 cautionary pad every day just for dribbles and accidents but this procedure is the 'Gold Standard' solution. If you can have this and take the very intrusive and uncomfortable surgery I would recommend this action.

[DS_WAVL in reply to Engraver68]

I can sure use an AUS, but I have been chicken about the surgery. I have heard that recovery is a real bear. What was your experience like?

[Firespooks]

I had it installed 2 years after my prostatectomy. I went from 2 large pads per day to one light pad per day just for dribbles. I’m glad I had it done.

[Engraver68]

It was a really invasive procedure but pain relief post surgery helps with swelling and usual icing to assist in thus too.

My biggest problem was constipation caused by the pain killers so a help with diet and meds for this was a relief! I still dont regret it and my thinking is if you can manage a prostatectomy then this is a breeze! Go for it as it is proven to work

[Cgjunior]

It helped me w stress incontinence. 100% effective right away. Trouble is, the sling stretches over time and after a few years dribbling re-starts. I had it done about 5 yrs ago, and I’m still much much better than before the sling.

Surgery was a piece of cake but should be done by a specialist who has performed the procedure many times (hundreds)

I would recommend it