I thought I should let the group know about my successful FLA operation with Dr. K in Houston.
I had the operation on 6th July 2017. My prostate was 185cc - very large. The operation went by without any drama whatsoever. I was given some sort of local anesthetic which blocked all pain.I was awake throughout the entire procedure and assisted greatly throughout the entire 4-hour operation by Samatha, Dr. K's totally fantastic nursing assistant. I'm told that due to the size of my prostate I had 13 ablations; something of a record. After the operation, I had a catheter for 14 days to give time for the swelling to go down. It's now five weeks and I'm starting to notice the benefits. I'm not looking for toilets everywhere I go and I'm starting to sleep well - up only two or three times per night at the moment which is a massive improvement for me. Also, I should stress that sexual functions are normal with no retrograde ejaculation etc. I pretty confident things will get better and better. The five weeks recovery have seemed long and the 14 days with a catheter were uncomfortable but easily doable.
The support from Houston has been fantastic with the Dr. still regularly checking in on my progress by email. Also fantastic and invaluable was the support I got from other guys who have had the op - members of the K club - who were there for me and contactable all the time.
Anyone considering the operation from my part of the world (I live in Hong Kong) is welcome to contact me and can count on my support through the healing process.
It is really good to here that you are doing so well. It is still very early yet and the big improvements are yet to come. You must of had a complex shaped prostate to need 13 ablations. My prostate was 176ml and my procedure was done in 8 ablations on April 6th. You are now the king of ablations and I believe the largest prostate done to date. I guess you had all of that rich food in Hong Kong, Ha!! I thought they did not have BPH in Asia?
Continued good luck and a fast recovery. Don't forget where you and all of the rest of us have come from and appreciate every bit of your recovery. I becomes very easy, like myself, to all of a sudden feel like my condition today is normal. Yes, normal for maybe one of the very few men over 50 that does not have BPH. I love it.
Peter, It is really good to hear that you are on your way. It is still early and you will have some wonderful results developing as your inflamation continues to go down and your prostate re-shapes or as Dr. K calls it reforms. I am now 7 months and all is wonderful for me. I talked to my friend Ross this weekend and he is like a kid again. He is a younger guy and it is really affecting his life in a very positive way. I wish they would of had this when I was his age. We are all glad you are back home and having good results. I can't wait to hear from you again as it only gets better.
How long did you stay in Houston until you flew back to Hong Kong? Were you taking any drugs for your BPH beforehand? Did you have a median lobe or other complicating issues? My prostate is 240 gm.
I stayed in the USA for 14 days. I don't think there was any real need ( most folks who live in the US just go home) but I wanted the continuity of the same doctor and to be near someone who understood the procedure. They don't know what this op is in Hong Kong. Looking back I think it would have been cheaper to find an Airbnb. It was expensive but I feel it was worth every penny now I am seeing the benefits.
I'm afraid I'm not up on all the technical issues such as median lobe, but suffice to say that with an 185 cc prostate I was going through the full BPH symptoms sometimes up 10-12 times per night and a lot of bleed outs. Where are you, Neil? IF you want to send me a private note on logistics feel free.
Mike, Thanks for your note. I'm hoping to help anyone who needs it to find this op. Ross from NY, and John from Dallas were so damn good to me over the period of the op I'm eager to pay it forward. Also, Dr. K and Samantha were totally brilliant. I'm hoping the price of the procedure comes down greatly soon so that those who cannot afford it can benefit. I'm not a rich man but I bet the farm on this op as I was at a point of no return with the misery of BPH.
Reading your comments sounds as though you had everything there in the US and good friends along the way to help you Drs included, What I must say about the NHS over here in the UK is when I went through every procedure starting the the flow test and camera as to the size of my Prostrate was I was never told other that it was enlarged. I did experience Prostatitus which was cleared up with anti-biotics, when my appointment came through to go into hospital ( 31/07/2017 ) I was still unaware of what was going to happen I had the op and with help from painkillers the next day I was expected to be able to pass my urine which I can say did'nt happen the terrible burning sensation along with pain I was then told I would be discharged from that ward ( Bed needed ) to TWOC'S ( trial without catheter ) another ward to have this catheter fitted, apart from the nursing staff I was seen by a Registrar only to asking how was I.
I went home with a catheter in and a few booklets on changing the catheter the second week
I have not drank alcohol or had sex yet as I don't feel as though I want it too be really honest I'm scared ( is this all in my head ) does this mean I have to rely on Viagra again to stimulate my feelings ?
Ken, I am so sorry to hear this. This is the reason I have steered clear of standard operations of the prostate and suffered with BPH for years.
I found out about this FLA operation on this forum and it looked like what I was looking for. It cost me a lot of money. There is no insurance coverage but I thought it was worth it if I could end the problems and avoid the collateral damage associated with other operations. The help I got in the USA was all informal from other guys who have had FLA and are helping others who want to to know more. I am now part of that group and will assist anyone anyway I can.
I hope things get better for you in time. It sounds like you have got a raw deal from the NHS.
Have you seen any posts by Dr K? I thought once Sperling started participating, Dr K would start responding once in awhile.
Have you had any slight relapses? I can still hold off for a couple hours, but then sometimes when I get the urge it can be that I need to go right then. Plus every once in awhile I feel a little pressure in that area that i have not had before. The stream has mellow ed out to somewhere around a medium stream. First up in the morning requires usually 2 times before I settle in for the day.
By the way, how is retirement going? Or did you cave and work part time? You know that once they get you back, the hours go up and before you know it, you are working as much as before for less pay and benefits.
Good Luck and enjoy this time, find that smaller home to reduce your dependence on being a slave to your own home. Take vacations with your wife, take your dad once in awhile, but most of all,enjoy things for you.
Good to hear from you Micheal. Yes I pulled the trigger but they call me almost every day and I went up there twice to help the kids out. I told them to leave me alone this month and I am going to Western North Carolina to get out of this heat. I will come back when I am ready and then I will discuss consulting for them some just to look over there shoulder.
I am am doing great but I did get a small UTI maybe for a day or two. I think it was from too much sexual activity over too short a period of time (not boasting) but it is all good now thanks to some essential oil called Thieves that I used for a week. My symptoms are all still good. My flow also seems medium but this is because I forget sometimes how bad it was last year. And I am 66 years old not 26. I have to be realistic about this. But, I am very pleased I just will not win at competitive peeing contest. I don't get up at night now but maybe twice at most unless I drink a lot at night.
Last night I drank about 60 ozs. between 6 and 10 pm. because I was out in the heat all day and it is HOT outside. With that much to drink, I got up 5 times by 7 am but my volume was around 400 cc each time. So I did it to my self. Other than that, I am very well.
I did pass 4 bladder stones over the last month and had no pain. These are the ones I saw and there could have been more. This in its self is a teatime the to the success of the FLA procedure. I could not pass those out of my bladder before the FLA procedure. There was no pain in the passing of those stones. It just caught my attention as I do have to admit I like to watch the flow of the stream now and have developed a new hobby.
I known own you are playing soccer again now but I am wondering did you get back on that bike? I am not sure that would be good for a reforming prostate! I really think it takes a year to be finished with the reforming. Hope you are slowly continuing to make your improvements.
Doctor K is very busy as he has a lot of Cancer patients and last time I spoke with him he said he was trying to take his 3 kids on avacation before school starts back up. I think if someone ask a question on here he will answer but I also think he is a very respectful guy and does not want to chime in unless asked. Maybe he is somewhat bashful at times. He is a great caring person as we have all experienced. If you speak with him, invite him to respond. Again, it is good to hear you are better. Call me sometime.
Mike, in further response to your question on posting and participation by Karamanian on this web site, I called him today about my MRI followup that is ahead of me in a couple of months.
After our discussion on that topic, I ask the question you posed on his participation on this site and he said he is willing to try but he said the real issue is there are only so many hours in the day and he prefers to use his time each day on the procedures and specifically the post op care and personal support of the patients in recorvery. I can fully understand his comment as you and I both experienced this first hand. I did not mean to take the specfice use of his time for granted when I asked, but I also did not stop and consider it like I should have before I brought up the question to him. It is ture, there all only so many hours in any mans day!!
He said it is his opinion that his time is better spent in the detailed analyzing the 3 T MRi flims of each of his patients before the procedrues. Then as you know, he meets with each of the patients the day before the procedure for a period of 1 to 3 hours showing that patient and their spouse the MRI and the diagrammed plan of why, what and where he will remove the actual tissue in that specific prostate. This meeting seems to answers all questions and it absolutely shows you what part of the gland will not be touched. (the important parts). I have not ever recieved this level of detail in any other procedure that I have had done. I am sure you as well as others found this process to be very comforting.
Then, the day after the procedure, he sits down again with that patient and the spouse and compares the orginal MRI that he used in that previous meeting with the MRI done post procedure to show you where the tissue removal that you discussed was actually removed. This meeting usually takes a couple of hours to complete.
Then as you and all of us know, his personal post op follow up attention is extensive and continues through the recovery period. Most doctors do not have the time for all this attention and detail as it is unique to the way he prefers to practice. All that time added to the fact that he will persoanlly speak to anyone as much and for as long as they want to talk in regard to investigation and researching of the FLA process prior to making a decision to go forward, takes up all his time each day. And, let's not forget the acutal procedure time! You for one know how long those take.
His explaination to me was that this is merely a choice of how one prefers to practice and the time expended does not leave him a lot of time to do what we have seen from other doctors who instead choose to use that time to watch and sign on to many of these and other sites threads participating in the conversations. Just seems to be a difference in what is important to the individual doctor is how he explained it you me. But he did say he would try to participate more if he knows of a area in the thread where he would be helpful. His answer to me made a lot of sense.
Thanks for asking me and I hope this answers your question. I did not even think about this yesterday until I spoke to him today and ask the question.
Great to hear from you. I may come to Colorado (Vail) for a Pro/Am event next month. I will let you know.
I might get bleeding after driving a car for long hours, certainly after riding a bike or after sex. The bleeding could last for 3 or 4 days sometimes and was so bad I would need to put padding in my underwear and not wear light coloured trousers. I asked a number of urologists about it and never really got a satisfactory answer. My guess is my prostate was so big (185cc) that something would rupture easily. Even Dr K in Houston said he could not guarantee his procedure would fix the problem but it has. I'm even thinking I'll get a bike again although with a prostate saddle. I hope you can get your bleeding fixed because it is very distressing. Sorry I'm not much help. If you need to know anything else feel free to email me privately, Good Luck with this. Pete