On 09/04/2019 22:16, LenJP wrote:
In another post, I saw this: PAE (Prostatic Artery Embolization). A radiologist blocks the arteries feeding blood to the prostate, and
causes it to shrink by roughly 40%. An out patient procedure not
requiring a catheter.
Just wondering if anyone here has has that done and how it went.
I had that done at the end of July. It takes about six months to have
full effect. Now, two months later, I am noticing a significant
improvement.
Just as importantly, I am not incontinent, and I have no change in
sexual function. Neither of those is a foregone conclusion for the more invasive procedures, which almost always cause retrograde ejaculation.
OTOH, PAE does not work in all cases. Success rates are variously quoted
as 50-80%.
If it does work, it may not give a permanent solution to BPH, and you
may need further intervention 5-10 years later. Still, preserving sexual function and continence for an extra 5-10 years seems highly worthwhile.
This is quite a rapidly advancing field, so any intervention in 10 years
time may be completely different.
It is often done as an outpatient procedure, but it's quite a lengthy
procedure - about 2-3 hours, including preparation. That's followed by 4
hours of lying still in bed. So, you may be kept in overnight. Expect significant discomfort for the 12 hours after the procedure. In my case,
that was controlled by paracetamol and ibuprofen, but you may need
something stronger.
HTH
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