Larry's TUMT Procedure
Larry finally had his procedure for his enlarged prostate. We decided on the TUMT which uses "microwave energy" to destroy excess prostate tissue blocking the urine flow. I chose this, along with the urologist, as it is the least invasive and is done in the uro's office. There are many surgeries for this type of problem but I thought with Larry's condition, risk, etc., it was the best for him at this point. He had taken meds for this for a few years and they were not working.
The procedure took about 1 1/2 hours encluding the prep. Larry was given a sedative, pain med and antibiotic at the time of the procedure. The uro said he did well and Larry said he did not feel much discomfort. He was "out of it" tho with the meds, and I was happy I had someone to help me get him from the car to bed when we got home. While I was on the phone, he tried to get out of bed thinking he needed to use the urinal and fell on a nearby chair. Luckily, he did not hit the floor and was okay. He had to wear a catheter for 5 days. This was the hardest part as Larry was having spasms from wearing the cath. The spasms soon got further apart but a lot for poor Larry to endure. I was shown how to remove the catheter before we went to the uro's. We went back to the Uro's Monday. No one told me I had to remove it 4 hours prior. So, we went to the uro and he could not pee. We were told to wait for another 1 1/2 hours or so to try again. No go, even after I had him drink more. I had Jim (my home helper) with me and he had to get back home to his next client. We went home and Larry finally was able to go. If he could not, we would have to go back to the uro and have the catheter put back in. : (
So, so far he is doing well. He did not have pain urinating, blood in urine or an infection. He does have some retention and I am watching what goes in and comes out. They say it may take weeks for the body to absorb the tissue so we will not know just yet how much improvement will come. Hopefully, this will help. I researched this and talked to the uro many times. There are no perfect solutions. I thank my friend Debbie on here for walking me through this. As I told the uro, I am not a nurse, just a caregiver, and some of these things I did not know how to handle. The instructions they give do not answer all that may happen.
So, Larry is stronger and doing better now. I was happy he could walk to the car Monday as he was so weak he could not even walk before. The poor guy has been through so much but hardly complains.
Julie
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