When you leave hospital arrangements will have been made for you to have the catheter removed 7 days after the operation. Please check with the nursing staff prior to discharge to confirm these arrangements.
For the catheter removal, you will be admitted as a day patient to the hospital. Please bring supportive underwear with you as it will need to hold a pad in place once your catheter is removed. Your catheter will be removed in the morning and you will be able to go once we ensure you are passing your urine satisfactorily.
Allow around four hours for this visit as the nursing staff like to gauge how well your bladder is emptying. It helps if you can drink 1 – 2 litres over the morning. When you are discharged from hospital arrangements will be made for follow up in Dr Swindle’s rooms 6-8 weeks after the procedure.
A program of regular checkups will be necessary for the rest of your life. Your PSA will first be tested 6-8 weeks after the operation and Dr Swindle will arrange a request form for this to be performed.
The PSA level should be undetectable (less than 0.01 ng/ml) if the cancer has been completely removed. Your PSA is then checked every 3 months for the first year, then every 6 months for years 2 to 3, and annually thereafter.
Dr Swindle will usually discharge you from his care back to your general practitioner around 2 years post operatively if everything is stable. Your GP will then need to do regular PSA checks. Dr Swindle only needs to see you again should your PSA become detectable.
Please let Dr Swindle know if things are not going well. The best way to reach him during the day is to contact his office on 07 3010 3333 or Dr Swindle directly on 0409 103 333.
If you have any queries regarding robotic surgery please contact Dr Swindle’s office directly on above phone number or by email at reception@qprostate.com.
