Life after prostate removal: what patients should know before surgery

At 64, Suresh (name changed), had a comfortable and active life. Apart from a small urinary problem that he linked to a slightly enlarged prostate, he had no serious health problems. At his annual health checkup, which included a standard prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test, it was found that Suresh’s PSA levels were raised. This led additional testing, including an MRI that revealed a concerning prostate lesion and a biopsy that verified early-stage prostate cancer. To find out whether the cancer had spread beyond the prostate gland, a PSMA PET scan was requested and fortunately, the results indicated that the cancer was still confined to the prostate. A surgical team decided to perform a robot-assisted radical prostatectomy, a minimally invasive surgical procedure that removes both the prostate gland and the surrounding lymph nodes, because of his general good health and the fact that the disease was still in its early stages. After surgery, Suresh recovered well and was discharged from the hospital within a few days.