Prostatectomy
PROSTATECTOMY
Common side effects of pelvic floor dysfunction and prostatectomy surgeries can include:
  • erectile dysfunction
  • urinary leakage and or urge incontinence.
  • dribbling
  • There can also be a deep ache in the pelvis where the prostate used to be, and it can be the result of scar adhesion and trigger points in the PFM that are close to the prostate area.

Physiotherapy treatment should be a 4-month plan starting 1 month pre-operatively. Stop with the pelvic floor muscle training while the catheter is in situ. As soon as the catheter is removed start with exercises until continence has recovered. Most men should be dry 6-12 weeks post-surgery.

BE PRO ACTIVE: PLAN FOR RECOVERY BEFORE STARTING TREATMENT:
“Rehabilitation” means optimizing your health before treatment to potentially improve your outcomes. Using multiple approaches, both before and after treatment, may support recovery.

  • Normally men have three separate anatomical structures to control urine:
  • The internal sphincter in the bladder neck
  • The prostate itself
  • The external sphincter (Pelvic floor muscle)
After a prostatectomy you need the control your continence using the pelvic floor muscle, the external sphincter which you can train.
THERE IS ALWAYS HELP FOR URINARY INCONTINENCE AFTER RADICAL PROSTATECTOMY!!
DR PATRICK WALSH SAYS:

“About 80 percent should be dry or have the occasional drop – by 3 months after surgery and at 12 months, 95 to 98 percent should be continent.

” Walsh considers a man continent “if he wears no pad or if he wears a pad that is dry. “Many men continue to wear a small pad just to be safe,” he explains.

“Most men, even at three months, are not very wet. It is hard to believe, but urinary control does continue to improve over two years, and occasionally, even longer than that.”
About 2% of patients will need surgical intervention for ongoing leakage beyond 1 year post –op. (A bladder sling or an artificial urethral sphincter)


September is Prostate awareness month- please Suit Up, take a picture and share on the
Prostate Cancer Foundation South Africa Facebook or Instagram.

If you need help or support, also make use: Prostate Cancer Foundation of South Africa
https://prostate-ca.co.za