I am 47 and have been dealing with BPH for about six years. Four of those years I have been on Uroxatrol with ok results but the drug has been losing its efficacy and it has given me heartburn and dizzy spells especially when I get up from kneeling. The actual procedure was more painful for me than others on here have indicated but my BP spiked slightly so they could only give me a limited amount of Versed and Fentanyl. Procedure went perfect and as of now, I feel no effects of somebody ablating my most private of areas. Dr K and nurse Samantha are exactly as advertised. I cannot say enough good things about them. She is extremely caring and personable and he is so involved on making his patients understand EVERYTHING. He also goes above and beyond.....an example.....I had to have my cath put in the day before the procedure (yesterday) because my URO could not get a cath in the last time a had a cystoscope. Well Dr K got one to go in (thank god or I could not have had the procedure) but it gave me extremely painful bladder spasms. I noticed this after I left his office. When I got to the hotel, the spasms made me p*ss all over myself. Unsure of what was happening, I called Dr K. An hour later HE CAME TO MY HOTEL ROOM to check on me!!!! I thought house calls stopped back in the 60's??? My catheter does bother me and is, at times, painful at the tip of my penis. Spasms still occurs but is becoming more tolerable.
I will update in two -three weeks.
Have been Doing some research in to FLA that I wanted to share. This doctor sounds very good and very personable.
I had PAE by Dr bagla at vascular institute and had a great success. I wanted to see what the differences were with FLA asked at my last followup. With pAe, there is no foley cath needed, coverages by most insurance and hundreds of scientific publications with longer term data know known to 5 years. With fla, you will likely get a foley, its expensive and there are limited knowledge about use in bph. It does sound exciting but I went with pae bc I didn't want to risk impotence or incontinence and I am so thankful I did.
I also had a PAE back in 2013 with Dr Bagla at the Inova Hospital in VA. I was accepted as part of an initial study of 36 men suffering with BPH and initially had some symptom relief. My prostate at that time was 100g with a large median lobe. The symptom relief was unfortunately temporary and lasted less than three years. Sadly, my prostate has grown itself a fresh blood supply and has not only grown back but continued to grow and is now a huge 125g along with all the symptomatic misery which comes with that.
It's worth noting that it's impossible for PAE to target specific areas of the prostate. We each have different symptoms precisely because our overgrown prostates restrict and protrude in their own unique ways causing our own specific symptoms and issues. Also does the interventional radiologist performing PAE get all the arteries necessary for you to get the ideal outcome? I have heard that men have emerged from PAE only partially embolized. There's no guarantee that the median lobe will stop blocking the urethra or for that matter whether merely shrinking the gland will relieve the constriction around the urethra. PAE works well for general symptom relief but it is non-targeted and from my own experience and the experience of many others, temporary.
From what I understand about MRI guided FLA, the procedure is the most precise and specific targeting of the prostate tissue that is specifically causing our symptoms. FLA allows the IR to ablate with incredible precision the exact areas where prostate tissue is constricting the urethra or protruding into the bladder. If median lobe is a problem it gets targeted by the laser and the offending tissue is ablated. I don’t know of any other procedure that allows the Dr. to so precisely and strategically plan and tailor the ablation of tissue according to each individual requirement while preserving full sexual function. The few patients posting on these boards that have undergone this procedure appear to be waxing lyrical about their outcomes. But, it’s really expensive and yes I agree there is still little data out there. But that being said, for me anyway, how this procedure works makes perfect sense. FLA like PAE is minimally invasive but unlike PAE is targeted, precise and specific to each person’s needs and therefore potentially has a much better outcome.
Good luck and wishing you a speedy recovery. I'll be following your recovery with a great deal of interest. Thank you for sharing your experience and look forward to hearing a lot more.
Congrats Keith! The worst part of it is right now when the Foley is in. And I guess the first week after it comes out, because you have to pee, but it is very difficult, at least for me. I had pain during the last two ablutions, I think he did 6. When are you headed home? Make sure the Foley connections are tight before running through the airport, LOL!
Yea! It will be good to follow. If u were one of the original trial patients, did u contact dr bagla or another radiologist bc it can be repeated. He is now using smaller beads bc they have seen lots of improvements. My understanding is the Arteries go to the whole prostate so it targets all the loves. We got an MRI after mine the whole prostate shrunk, even the median lobe. I think u may be misunderstanding a little bit but maybe every person is diffenrt. The docs told me all procedures have recurrence even the dreaded turp which I didn't want recurs. Look at the complications from all before deciding on next steps.
Yeah, I have contacted Dr Bagla and he has told me about the smaller beads too. I am happy to hear that you have experienced success and truly hope that it continues for a long time for you. I agree that all these procedures are temporary as we are treating the symptoms and not the cause. Which is why I am also extremely interested in the the Gat Goren method as a potential cure for BPH.
If you don’t mind me asking, how large was your prostate and how much did it shrink after PAE?
Good morning Trustme,
i have a feeling you have a lot of eyes on you! Many of us here are looking for reports on the FLA. Most are onboard with Dr. K, as many of us have spoke with him, Were just not too sure about being onboard with the FLA. Will keep an eye out for your progress reports!
Also I was wondering, If you flew into Houston and if so how long are you staying there before heading home? I flew once with a cath and security took me to their little inspection room to confirm that's what it was, a little humiliating. Also how long did Dr. K want you to keep your cath in? One last question, does your cath have a small valve on the very end so you can remove the bag and just go pee every couple of hours by just opening the valve? (Basically doing away with the bag).
Thanks for your decision on the FLA, looking forward to your posts!
have a blessed day!
Hey Roy...I think he did five ablations on me and I felt all five. Also , I felt very cramped lying in that MRI tube for almost 3 hours!!!
I arrived on Thursday, procedure was on Friday and I heading home Sunday. 3 nights. Dr. K said this was plenty of time. Cath is in for seven days. No valve. I asked about it and he said to clamp it if I want to control it.
Sam, when did you have the PAE? How are you doing?
I had my PAE wiith Dr. Bagla in Sept 2016, I've gradually returned to my condition prior to the PAE and am now thinking of what to try next. FLA gets some positive reviews but like you I feel its too new and has too many risks.
A year ago, but no signs of recurrence. I know that it may, but the risk is so low with Dr. Bagla and i would happily go through it again. Took one hour and no foley or pain. I have posted my results along the way in other threads, but was very good
jjjj57989, what are the main risks do you feel FLA has?
Hey buddy just read your post. Glad to here you are doing great. Even though you feel pretty good, dont do what I did the second day out and over do it. I should never had toured NASA for 3 and half hours.
I am sure you are on the Uribel but it should catch up to the bladder spams and help a lot if you keep on it every six hours.
I am still very happy and you will be also. I am old enough to be your DAD!! So you will do great. And we will find a permenate fix to the growth issue with the prostate.
You are so right about Dr. K. It is even unbelievable for a person who has had the procedure to understand how this doctor could be this way. He is truly one of a kind and simply wonderful. He will be very close to you for several weeks to help you through the recovery guestion. Other doctors just have an office staff or a PA communicate with you. Not Doctor K. As you saw, if he felt you had a issue HE CAME TO YOU!!!! And he has been like that with every patient he has had that I have been aware. I had a lot of question and he directly answer every one anytime I called for a inquiry after my procedure.
You have my number. Use it when ever you want to or get bored. I leave for NC tomorrow for a 5 day golf trip but I have lots of time and always have my phone surgically attached.
Good Luck and Dont have sex just yet. (inside joke)
john
Sam,
Glad to hear it went so well. It is random in the atrophy or I would have picked it. I did research it completely. I did go and meet face to face with Bagla and with Isaacson before I chose FLA.
I am as glad as your are about my decision and the results. I would pay five times the cost for this results if it was permenate. Now I will wait and watch the longer term while Gat-Coren or something else come along that will stop the condition instead or treat the symptoms. We are all watching it first hand now with one of my heros, Neil, on this site. He gets it done on next Tuesday and he will keep us all updated.
By the way any sexual side effect from FLA would only be because the IR did not know well enough what he was and where he was ablating. Dr. K really knows his stuff and makes sure through 3T MRI that every patient also knows it before and after the treatment. He shows you and tells you everything that will be done and where it will be done precisely. After the procedure he so he did it and the sexual componets of your prostate that he did not get near or effect. I liked that, was impressed and know of no other doctor treating men for this horrible condition that is doing that for us.
Good luck and enjoy your new found freedom!!
John
I also was told to clamp it and I did not prefer the clamp to just natural so I took it back off. But that is me and my wife said I should have given the clamp on my leg more time for me to get use to it. I think I just got use to it without the clamp befor I put it on my. I bet Motoman had a different experience to that leg clamp. Bet it was good.
I actually had a valve that Dr K gave me. It just plugged into the port like the pee bag does. I used that, or the clamp. Honestly, I did not like the valve. It was bulky enough that I didn't leave the house or hotel with it, same as the clamp. What I did do was use either the clamp or valve in the morning at home for the first 4 or 5 hours after waking up.
But I had a weird sensation when I used the valve and emptied my Bladder. When it was finally empty, it felt like something slammed shut in the Bladder, every time. Just a very weird feeling. Try it with the clamp, maybe it doesn't do it.
And don't have sex as early as I did. I think it was too early even though Dr K said it was OK. I think I did it at around 2.5 weeks. Hold out as long as you can! LOL
Glad to hear things went well for you. Very interested in following your progress in the weeks ahead to see how you improve.
Rick
Your post is informative, and you should maybe post more often on here, Ross. THANK you.
The worst is now behind you. I am in no position, nor am I qualified, to offer advice. That said, be patient, my friend. You are two days post op. Healing is sometimes a slow procedure. Give it time, and I'm glad you found that doctor. Stick with HIM. Be well.