Read More

Patient Instructions

You had surgery to remove all of your prostate, some tissue near your prostate, and probably some lymph nodes. This was done to treat prostate cancer.

• Your surgeon may have made an incision (cut) either in the lower part of your belly or in the area between your scrotum and anus (open surgery).
• Your surgeon may have used a robot or a laparoscope (a thin tube with a tiny camera on the end).

You may be tired and need more rest for 3 to 4 weeks after you go home. You may have pain or discomfort in your belly or the area between your scrotum and anus for 2 to 3 weeks.

You will go home with a catheter (tube) to drain urine from your bladder. This will be removed after 1 to 3 weeks.

Change the dressing over your surgical wound once a day, or sooner if it becomes soiled. Your doctor will tell you when you do not need to keep your wound covered. Keep the wound area clean by washing it with mild soap and water.

• You may remove the wound dressings and take showers if sutures, staples, or glue were used to close your skin. Cover the incision with plastic wrap before showering for the first week if you have tape (Steri-Strips) over it.
• Do not soak in a bathtub or hot tub, or go swimming, as long as you have a catheter. You can do these activities after the catheter is removed.

Your scrotum may be swollen for 2 to 3 weeks. You may need to wear either a support or brief underwear until the swelling goes away. While you are in bed, you may use a towel below your scrotum for support.

You may have a drain (called a Jackson-Pratt, or JP, drain) below your belly button that helps extra fluid leak from your body. Your doctor will take it out after 1 to 3 days.

See also: Jackson-Pratt drain

While you have a urinary catheter:

• You may feel spasms in your bladder while you have this. Your doctor can give you medicine for these.
• You will need to make sure your indwelling catheter is working properly. You will also need to know how to clean the tube and the area where it attaches to your body so that you do not get an infection or skin irritation.
• The urine in your drainage bag may appear darker red. This is normal.

See also:

• Catheter care - indwelling
• Urine drainage bags

After your catheter is removed:

• You may have burning when you pee, blood in the urine, frequent urination, and an urgent need to urinate
• You may have some urine leakage (incontinence). This should improve over time. You should have almost normal bladder control within 3 to 6 months.
• You will learn exercises (called Kegel exercises) that strengthen the muscles in your pelvis. You can do these exercises any time you are sitting or lying down. See also: Kegel exercises - self-care

Do not lift anything heavier than a 1-gallon milk jug for the first 6 weeks. Avoid long car trips, always stopping at least every 2 hours. Do not drive the first 3 weeks after you come home.

After that, you can slowly work back up to your normal exercise routine. You can do everyday activities around the house if you feel up to it. Expect to get tired more easily.

Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day, eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, and take stool softeners to prevent constipation. Do not strain during bowel movements.

You should not take aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn), or other similar medicines for 2 weeks after your surgery. They may cause problems with blood clots.

Sexual problems you may notice are:

• Your erection may not be as rigid. Some men are not able to have an erection.
• Your orgasm may not be as intense or pleasurable as before.
• You may notice a smaller amount of semen, or no semen at all, when you have an orgasm.

These problems may get better or even go away, but it may take many months or more than a year. Ask your doctor about medicines that will help.

Call your doctor or nurse if:

• You have pain in your belly that does not go away when you take your pain medicines.
• It is hard to breathe.
• You have a cough that does not go away.
• You cannot drink or eat.
• Your temperature is above 100.5 °F.
• Your surgical cuts are bleeding, red, warm to the touch, or have a thick, yellow, green, or milky drainage.
• You have signs of infection (burning sensation when you urinate, fever, or chills).
• Your urine stream is not as strong or you cannot pee at all.
• You have pain, redness, or swelling in your legs.

While you have a urinary catheter, call your doctor if:

• You have pain near the catheter.
• You are leaking urine.
• You notice more blood in your urine.
• Your catheter seems blocked.
• You notice grit or stones in your urine.
• Your urine smells bad, or it is cloudy or a different color.
• Your catheter has fallen out.

Prostatectomy - radical - discharge; Radical retropubic prostatectomy - discharge; Radical perineal prostatectomy - discharge; Laparoscopic radical prostatectomy - discharge; LRP - discharge; Robotic-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy - discharge ; RALP - discharge; Pelvic lymphadenectomy - discharge

Su L, Smith JA. Laparoscopic and robotic-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy and pelvic lymphadenectomy. In: Wein AJ, ed. Campbell-Walsh Urology. 9th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007:chap 99.

Walsh PC, Partin AW. Anatomic radical retropubic prostatectomy. In: Wein AJ, ed. Campbell-Walsh Urology. 9th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007:chap 97.

Hartke DM, Resnick MI. Radical perineal prostatectomy. In: Wein AJ, ed. Campbell-Walsh Urology. 9th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007:chap 98.

Updated by: Louis S. Liou, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Urology, Department of Surgery, Boston University School of Medicine. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.