Robotic Surgery Scar Healing - Prostate Cancer A...

Prostate Cancer And Gay Men

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Robotic Surgery Scar Healing

winwon00 profile image
21 Replies

hi all,

I am new to the site and happy to have stumbled across such a great resource for the LGBT community. Ok so i am a 50 years old, roughly 2 weeks post RP and happy to be feeling much better each day.

My doctor confirmed that the final post-op pathology report showed that the cancer was confined to the prostate and did not spread. A pre- op MRI confirmed the same so I am feeling pretty good about choosing surgery and admittedly picked a highly qualified surgeon to perform the procedure.

My cathater was removed this week and a have 95% control with only minor leakage. I will be taking pills to regain erection but sex can wait because I believe it will come and with some adjustments I'll make it work.

that's my intro, and now my question is about the healing process and subsequent scarring after Robotic surgery. The six incisions appear to be healing well but I am hoping for minimal scarring. I just don't want a whole lot of What happened" questions while at the beach or something where I need to take my shirt off. I would love to hear from folks who further along in the healing phase.

God bless everyone...it's a wonderful forum!

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winwon00
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21 Replies
YostConner profile image
YostConner

Great report from your doc! Sorry I can’t help with the scars. At this point I just wear mine with pride.

winwon00 profile image
winwon00 in reply toYostConner

Great approach. Thank you for the comments!

TimCo profile image
TimCo

Howdy no issues re scaring. Am proud that they are there to show and thaty the procedure was a complete success.

Watchung11 profile image
Watchung11

Welcome! I am just a little a head of you, my surgery was on Jan 3td 2018. Frankly I have been amazed how quickly the wounds are healing and how invisible. The big one by my belly button is vanishing even though it still feels hard to the touch. I don't even think of the scarring as an issue. Leakage is a nuisance , things like a sudden movement or cough can provoke a little pee.... getting out of my low car does it! So right now I get through about 4-5 pads a day.

winwon00 profile image
winwon00 in reply toWatchung11

thanks for sharing..i went through 5 pads the day of having my catheter removed.

It scared me to imagine wearing pads indefinitely because I enjoy outdoir avtivities and wear my pants a bit tight around the waist. But out of nowhere I regained 98% bladder control and a steady stream flowed like I was 20 again..lol

Like you there are infrequent moments when I do experience a sudden leak, but it's not enough where I need to where a pad. I normally place tissue on the tip of my penis which does the trick.

Paulo1968 profile image
Paulo1968 in reply towinwon00

Learning with you with the tissue on the tip of the penis :-)

winwon00 profile image
winwon00 in reply toPaulo1968

hey. 🙂it works.

Vitruviusman profile image
Vitruviusman

I had the surgery in 2010 and I don't have any scars left that are visible. I have erectile dysfunction ever since and nothing works except the penile injections. Friends of mine have the penile implant and they lost another inch from their cock, lost sensitivity in their orgasm, and found it was much more difficult to achieve orgasm. The pump is extremely painful and the pain takes away from the erotic feeling that's left. Usual erectile dysfunctional drugs did not work to produce an erection. The drugs only seem to increase the intensity of the orgasm feeling. if you want to talk more about this you could email me mineo.keith@gmail.com

winwon00 profile image
winwon00 in reply toVitruviusman

thanks for sharing Keith. I have a 90 day supply of pills on the way via USPS and eager to see if they work for me. Just yesterday I noticed at least a 1.5inch loss from a former 8.5inch penis so I guess that is par for course for SOME of us. Honestly I don't really stress to much about my future sex life because I've lived long enough to know that there's always something and someone that can accommodate each person's sexual and emotional needs. I believe you just have to be open to exploration. I'll definitely keep your email handy and thanks so much for the kind offer!

Vitruviusman profile image
Vitruviusman in reply towinwon00

I look forward to hearing from you

Watchung11 profile image
Watchung11

Its difficult for me to evaluate the success of Sedanafil as i have not tried life without it. It's only been a month. One thing that surprises me is that orgasms are fine and then I immediately get harder... seems weird. Still some escaping urine happens along the way. I haven't noticed any difference with the "challenge " dose so far. Ray

jimreilly profile image
jimreilly

my own scars re prostate surgery healed well and are hardly noticeable--you really have to look for them (unlike the big scar from the kidney surgery)--just give them some time

winwon00 profile image
winwon00 in reply tojimreilly

awesome.. thanks for sharing!

misterbarkley profile image
misterbarkley

I just put some over the counter healing salve on the incisions. I don't think i could even find the scars now 2 years later.

winwon00 profile image
winwon00 in reply tomisterbarkley

Hi, thank you for sharing!

sdtrainer profile image
sdtrainer

I discovered an over-the-counter medication called Mederma when I broke my ankle and had surgical incisions on both sides of my right ankle. I applied Mederma several times daily on only one side and was too grossed out by the feel of the screws and pins on the other side that I didn't apply the salve to that side. The one side treated with Mederma healed beautifully without the "railroad track" appearance. AFter my radical robotic prostatectomy, I used Mederma again with my five incisions. The largest incision was within the belly button area, so I wasn't too concerned with that, but I applied Mederma there just the same. The other four incisions, of course, were smaller, and with the Mederma applications they healed very nicely. Granted, the incisions may appear as small indentations in the abdomen and are scarely noticeable, but I've never been hesitant to take off my shirt. The process may take awhile, but a small tube costs $15 or so and is worth the effort, in my opinion.

winwon00 profile image
winwon00

hey, I'll give the Mederma a try..thanks for sharing your experience.

michael42301 profile image
michael42301

I wouldn't exactly know about the incision scar, but 6 years later, I still have a faint scar from the surgery to repair the hernia caused by the prostate surgery. The surgeon apparently stuck in his thumb and pulled out one damn big prostate gland. I just chalked it up to wear and tear. It took years for the scar to fade after the surgery to repair the anal fistula; that one looked like my ass had swallowed half of a happy face and only half of a mindless grin was visible. That was one I really didn't want to display.

koiboi profile image
koiboi

Hey I'm Allan! I had robotic surgery almost 7 yrs ago and my scarring is almost invisible! The only weird thing is where my "new" belly button is... Just above my original one there's a fatty deposit that kinda hangs down. Dr said it's cuz I'm so thin! We've all earned these scars!!

winwon00 profile image
winwon00 in reply tokoiboi

Hi Allan, I'm a thin guy as well, 6ft 170, but belly button seems ok right now! thanks

Happycal profile image
Happycal

My scars have heal really well. Its 3 mos. The smalls ones are almost completely gone

The main one in the middle is taking a little longer..but is getting shorter. Just tell those beach studs you were in a knife fight.😉

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