External Urethral Sphincterotomy?

[Patrick]

I bled too; because my blood pressure is naturally low, my urologist was concerned. I expected the bleeding, because there is no way, with current technology, to suture the incision. I guess the worst part of the experience was that my roommate was dying of alcoholism; he protested vigorously, was demanding of the staff, and chewed out the family members who visited him. I did what I could to calm him; but I was glad to go home.

[J93]

Wow, thanks for your input Brian!

That definitely makes me even more nervous about it, but it still sounds like what I'm looking for.

How long did you typically spend in the Hospital during your operations?
Just how unbearable was the pain post surgery?
I have what I consider a decent pain tolerance, but man something about catheters... They hurt like a son of a bi***...
If it's anything like that, I may be in for a horrible ride. But if it's more of a deep ache/pain and not sharp/stabby I should be okay.

I am kinda worried about the catheter post surgery.
My dear old mother had a stent in place after a Kidney Stone Removal procedure, was the worst two weeks of her life.
The urethra swelling against the stent caused her massive amounts of pain. In fact she was re-hospitalized twice because of it.
Granted she doesn't have much of a tolerance for the slightest pain to begin with, I'm still not looking forward to it as I imagine I'll be in the same boat with the swelling...


Somebody mentioned being infertile (sorry forgot who while typing), I will indeed prepare for that.
I'll definitely make sure to have plenty of "Baby Serum" stored for me and the Ms's later on.

In relation to that, Brian since you have the most experience here (and I don't want to get too personal but..) do you have any problems with erections?
That is also kinda a concern at the moment.

[B Brian]

The surgery itself is done as a outpatient. I'm normally let go soon after waking up. (Though I did once have an unrelated complication and they kept me overnight).

The pain post surgery was pretty unbearable for me the first week while I had the catheter in. I also had a LOT of involuntary sphincter muscle spasms after my first three surgeries. Each spasm was enough to bend me over and make the room spin. I'm told this is very uncommon though, and most anyone should not experience that.

Either way, they will give you good pain meds afterwards. You will be expected to fill it yourself after the surgery though. I just have them call it in and have my designated driver pick it up with me on the way home.

You will be in more pain than from just the catheter though, and it is more of a localized ache. Not sharp, but still concentrated, if that makes any sense. Regardless, the pain meds make it manageable. Just don't expect to go to work until after that catheter is out!

Lastly, I am infertile by choice of a vasectomy. Needing to wear diapers alone can prevent your sperm from fully developing, which can render you infertile. There is also the possibility (which happened to me), where the surgery can also make you have a retrograde ejaculation. This too will render you mostly, if not fully, infertile.

I do still get erections and can still climax just fine as usual. If anything, getting an erection with a catheter in is the most concerning and painful thing. (Which thankfully will quickly kill that off). While the surgeries themselves didn't change my sex drive (other than the expected delay as I healed), it certainly can affect your drive or ability (like it did with me). I suppose it's all a balanced gamble we have to accept with this surgery.

[Patrick]

My sphincterotomy was definitely in-patient. I stayed in three days, and the urologist said he would recommend two more days if necessary. When I came home, I had three visiting nurses' appointments to check on my blood pressure, temperature, and the Foley, which they removed on the third visit.

[B Brian]

Wow, that's a long time being in-patient, but with home nurses too.... if you don't mind me asking, did you have other reasons or complications you had to deal with to warrant all of that?

[Patrick]

I have a rather lengthy medical history, including brain damage, a brain tumor, bi-lateral (both ears) inner ear disease, and, just prior to the surgery, I had nearly finished an extensive work-up for a genetic disease. The geneticists were not finished with me at the time of my surgery, and requested the extra time. I had several whole-body and brain MRIs, a spinal tap, and a whole body electromyogram. Unpleasant. Embarrassing. Really glad they were satisfied, and never called me back, even though they said they would.

[B Brian]

Ah, sorry to hear that. Yeah with everything you had/have going on I can see why they kept you longer.

[diaperdan]

Why not just have an indwelling Foley put in. That's what I wear. My sphincter has been messed up for years. It always snaps shut too soon. I was given a Urodynamic test and I failed it. So a Foley was put in. No big deal.
If you are open all the time you'll get a lot of infections

[Patrick]

One of the decisive factors with my sphincterotomy was that I was getting UTIs 2-3 times every year. I have not had one UTI since, even though I do have leakage.

[diaperdan]

I'm glad you don't have any more uti's They are the pits!! Been there too!!