Well it’s finally done! Can I get a “hallelujah”? As I posted just before the event – I Am Having Urethroplasty Surgery Tomorrow To Fix My Urethral Stricture – I had my end-to-end urethroplasty! And the doctor (Dr. Thomas Rozanski – one of the best and most experienced in this sub-topic of urology in the country) said it was a huge success. He said the stricture was very small (amazing how much trouble of tiny bit of scar tissue can cause to a human being), and that the two healthy ends of the urethra came together easily and nicely after the part with the stricture was cut out.
Then they sent me up to my hospital room for a one-night stay. Things may have gone well in the operating room, but not so much in my overnight-stay room. I was in a lot of pain afterwards. The hospital floor where I was installed had a sudden influx of new patients and a shortage of nurses that night. Plus there were several miscommunications about medication and other SNAFUs. The result was that I couldn’t get out in front of the pain to manage or control it until about 10:30 the next morning. My assessment was that the pain was level 8 (on the 10-level scale) for about 18 hours. So it was a long and sleepless night.
The morning nurse was awesome and gave me enough pain medication that I finally felt like it was under control. My wife drove me home at 2:00 pm. I was told I could remove the dressing once there, so I did that immediately. Then I ran a wet wash cloth over (docs said not to use soap) over the surgical site, which was the perineum. Oh, and I forgot to mention that since I’d had a suprapubic catheter for the past 6 months, which was removed during the surgery. So there is also a hole there that was bandaged up. They inserted a Foley catheter up “the normal way” after the surgery.
Once I got my pants off, I could understand why the pain had been worse than it might otherwise have been. The surgeon had dressed the site with a giant thick wad of gauze, and then put tight stretchy underpants (called TENA Comfort Pants) on me. My wife said they looked like Spanks;). This was necessary to provide pressure against the wound. Things got much better after I pulled that off. After cleaning up, the doc said I could either put a light dressing over it, or just use a panty liner. My wife had plenty of those, so that’s what I did.
It was hard to inspect the area because of where it is on my body. I ended up bending over and holding a mirror between my legs to see. It was pretty comical, but very effective. There was quite a lot of bleeding and bruising in and around the scrotum. So I was told to keep an eye on that and even ice it to help the swelling. I did ice it, and it wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Also, it did help. Apparently you don’t need to worry unless your scrotum swells to the size of a large orange. No worries on that score yet;). If citrus fruit is the standard metaphor, I was at about the tangerine or large cumquat level.
One thing that did concern me, a few hours after I got home and had walked around a lot, was that there was some blood in the urine drainage bag. Not much, but enough to turn it pink. Normally it wouldn’t concern me, but my surgeon said we wanted to make absolutely sure there was no bleeding inside the urethra at the point where they joined the healthy ends back up after cutting out the part with the stricture. This is why I could not have any anti-inflammatory meds for the first 24 hours. But I called the next morning and was told that it was almost certainly blood from the bladder, due to the new catheter being inserted. He said that if any blood had come from inside the urethra, it would have come out of the penis, around the outside of the catheter. This did not happen. Whew! (As an update from day 3 after the surgery, there has been no more blood in the urine.)
Oh yeah – the sitting down thing. They sent me home with a couple of different kinds of donut rings to sit on – some foam rings and one large inflatable one. The foam ones were OK, but after trying the inflatable one, I never went back to foam. The blow-up ring was perfect.
Keeping on the pain medication and sitting on my donut ring, I made it to bed time with relatively little pain.
I slept for about 9 hours and felt much better in the morning – 2 days after the surgery. I showered, took a pain pill and ate breakfast. The drainage bag had only clear urine in it, so no more bleeding. Everything seems great. I found that sitting in a recliner, on the blow-up donut ring, with my legs up, I could rest with almost no pain at all! This was such a relief. Getting up was awkward and painful until I discovered that placing my hands on the arm-rests, and lifting my entire body up like a gymnast on a pommel horse, then flipping the leg-rest down and standing up, was the best and most painless method for getting out of the chair.
In two weeks (not four as they originally thought!), I go in to get my catheter out, if there have been no complications. They’ll shoot a contrast solution into my bladder from the catheter. Then they’ll remove the catheter and observe the urine flow under X-ray as I pee it out. This is called a voiding cystourethrogram (VCUG). See the video below for more on this. Though it is more about doing the procedure on children, the idea is the same for big boys too. If all goes well, I’ll be fixed! I’ll go home without a catheter in me for the first time in 7 months. But that’s still 2 weeks away. Fingers crossed!
voiding cystourethrogram (VCUG)
I’m very happy for you Ken. It’s good to hear you are doing well. Keep the updates coming. On a different note, I read through some of your music blogs, as well as some of your wife’s. They are great and very informative. I got caught up on the one about musical modes. I’ve always studied up on it, but your wife explains that so good in her blog.
Thanks for the comment on modes! Yeah, Lisa is a genius. for others who don’t know what we’re talking about, My wife, Lisa Theriot, wrote an article about musical modes here: What Is a Mode?
How are you feeling presently?
Neil,
It’s been 6 days, and I’m finally feeling like the pain has abated significantly. My primary issue this morning, which was pretty unpleasant, was my first time “doing number 2.” I was worrying about it, since the incision is so close the that vital area. But that was not an issue. The unpleasantness was more about the constipation common to most folks post-surgery due to general anesthesia and opiate pain medication. Apart from that, things seem to be proceeding much as expected. No bleeding from the either the surgical site, or around the catheter. Thanks for asking.
Ken
My name is Ron from India, it’s been four days after my urethroplasty, I’m on my catheter experiencing little pain. It’s good to read all your experiences.
Congrats on getting through the surgery, Ron! I’m so glad the site has helped.
Get well soon!
Ken
Ken,
Has your bladder size normalized over these years?
Mike
Mike,
My bladder normalized immediately after they took the catheter out! I don’t know the science behind that. when the catheter was in, even with the valve on the end of the tube instead of a bag, I had to “go” every 45 minutes or so. But when the catheter was out, I emptied my bladder so quickly due to the great flow. And I didn’t have to go any more frequently than I ever did – every 3-4 hours during the day.
Ken
My husband had this done all was good for 5 years then came back now he has to have it done again hope this time is for good don’t ever want him to have to do the his again
James – was that a complete urethroplasty he had or a urethrotomy?
Ken
He must have had a uerothrotomy like I did at first , well after the BHP surgery which caused the stricture which at first couldn’t be operated on due to the proximity of the sphincter muscle , then later after another look inside the doctor said he had a centimeter to work with and could do the operation without cutting the sphincter muscle causing lifelong catheterization so finally a uerethroplasty which rarely ever has to be redone ! Thank God that hopefully and prayerfully this is finally going to be permanently fixed It’s been way too long living through this hell ! 8 days out from surgery Only waking at night with an extremely painful erection ! Need to call doctor today to find out how to stop these sickeningly painful erections from happening during sleep 2nights in a row waking up in pain after 1&2 hours of sleep ! This needs to stop !
That sounds awful, Mark! But yes – do see the doctor. I THINK there is some medication that can reduce erections. Not positive about that. But I read someone else here had been given some. Hopefully you’ll get through this part quickly. Best of luck!
Sounds great!! Two weeks is really not such a long time!
I had mine on 7/18. I had a 4.5 cm buccal graft bulbar urethroplasty. So far, so good. The only pain that has bothered me is the sore throat. I still have another week, and then the vcug with catheter removal. It will be so nice to have this fixed once and for all.
I’m glad to hear that Josh. Did they do a perineal approach? Or the other open surgery? I envy you the lack of pain. Man, my pain is still pretty bad, and you had your surgery 2 days after me.
Good luck with the VCUG and being stricture-free!
Ken
Yep, mine was perineal. it is my opinion that your pain is from the two end being attached, and now they need to stretch. I have a graft in each end, so no stretching the shorter urethra. I have had 2 dviu surgeries before this. Now, the urethroplasty is done first, because it’s far more successful (90+ vs <30%, if that).
I'd be curious to know how you got yours, and why it got so bad so fast. I've had mine for as long as I can remember.
Josh, I’m curious. How old are you and how did you develop strictures? Also who is your Doctor? The reason I ask is because I’m in CT and I think I may have a stricture from a recent catheter injury.
Josh,
Actually my pain is in the scrotum area. I think there’s something amiss there. I’ll find out Friday. My stricture was so small (well under 1 cm) that the stretching will be (is) negligible.
As for how I got mine, we don’t know. I’ve not had any straddle injuries and nothing else stands out. My guess is that of the 4 or 5 surgeries under general anesthesia I’ve had in the past few years, the catheterization during surgery irritated an area of the urethra. But most stricture causes are never known.
Good luck!
Ken
Ken,
Causing of the strictures got me thinking. I wonder if some of us are prone to them, but with that being said; if we are prone to them I wonder if what we drink and eat on a daily basis contributes to them.
Maybe the stitches that are in the perineal area are pulling tight and are ready to come out. Seems like that could be a possible cause.
Ken,
I hope your pain gets better soon.
Thanks Neil!
Ken
I go to the urologist Monday, but I researched the guy and he gets poor ratings. Another thing I have to worry about is I have MRSA. I don’t have a current outbreak now, but that really limits what I can do. I’ve been having some bad PTSD from my catheter experience back in may. I can only say it’s my own fault for trusting them. I was not unable to get out of bed, nor was I having surgery so there really was not a need for them to do that to me. I feel so stupid for allowing them to do that to me. I’ve always dribbled after I pee, but now it’s worse and it feels like it is getting stuck on something. Then, when it does come out it’s sometimes painful. All I can do is pray, but I’ve come to realize it’s tough to find a good urologist. I wish I could see Dr. Joel Gelman, in CA. He’s the best in urethral repair/reconstruction. The irony of the situation is I just move from CA to CT, about a year ago.
Neil,
I just had a urethroplasty done on 7/5 at the Lahey Clinic in Burlington, MA with Dr. Vanni. My experience there has been nothing but positive. I would highly recommend him, if you need another option.
I am going to post my stricture story on Ken’s new page within the next day or two for others to learn from.
All the best to you on the journey.
C
Thanks Chris! So glad you posted your results on a comment over at: https://livingwithacatheter.com/stories-from-others-who-have-had-urethroplasty/#comment-1733! This kind of interaction and sharing is exactly what I have hoped for!
Thanks again soooooo much!!
Ken
I had Dr Vanni perform the same procedure on myself in April of 2014 — and I am whizzing like a Fire Hose, Like the Proverbial RACE HORSE. None of it is easy, but it WORKS!!! Not much more than that can I ask for. Worked like a charm.
That’s awesome, Paulie! Glad to hear it.
Hi I have stricture in urethra can you send me your experience of urethroplasty please
Dr. Santucci at detroit medical center did mine. He’s done over 600 reconstructions,so I was very confident in his abilities. He also started the reconstruction specialty at the dmc.
I’m currently 37, and I’ve had my stricture since at least my teens, if not from birth.
Josh/Neil, I am 48. The urologists at the Audie L. Murphie VA Hospital here in San Antonio keep calling me “young.” Hey, I’ll take it;). Compared to their average patient age, I am. Plus, being under 50 informs the choice of stricture repair procedure. They will not perform a urethrotomy (just sticking a knife up you and slicing off the stricture) on us “youngsters” due to the long-term success rate compared to urethrogram.
My surgeon was Dr. Thomas Rozanski. See his profile here if interested. There is also info. on how to schedule with him. He takes referrals from all over: https://profiles.uthscsa.edu/?pid=profile&id=17W0OEJHI
Cheers!
Ken
Had end to end 3 weeks ago, catheter out 4 days and urination has been getting worse and worse, split streams, weak pressure, not emptying, short urination periods, urinating 10 minutes apart from the last. Please share your experiences in detail once the catheter is removed for the first day/couple weeks. That’s what the internet needs, follow up analysis.
Thanks for that comment, Nick!
Can I ask how long you had your catheter in? The reason I ask is that one possible reason for frequent urges is to do with your bladder and not your stricture repair (again, you should DEFINITELY check with your doctor on this – and post back after, if you are so inclined). A lot of people have “to go” every 30 minutes or so even after only having had a catheter in for a few hours! My mother had a knee replacement surgery (actually twice in the same month since the first one didn’t work), and only had a catheter in for a few hours each time. She said it took almost a year for her bladder to recover. Also, after my “up-down-o-gram” in June, the docs said I could start wearing a valve instead of a bag on my catheter. See my post https://livingwithacatheter.com/bladder-still-not-retrained-after-catheterization/ This lets your bladder get back to filling up and emptying as it is designed to do.
I’ve been doing that since early June, except for the week following my urethroplasty and at night, and I still have to go every hour or so. I had my catheter in for 6 months, on a bag for 5, so it isn’t surprising my bladder is still getting back into the habit of filling and emptying. As with a lot of things, this seems to be variable from person-to-person, but it could at least be contributing to the problem.
Chris reported his story here: https://livingwithacatheter.com/stories-from-others-who-have-had-urethroplasty/#comment-1792 . He’s just 3 or 4 days after having his VCUG and catheter removal and reports everything is going great. You could bounce over there and ask him about his experience.
Good luck with this! I’d love to hear what your doctor says and/or how things work out after a few more days.
Thanks for the comment!
Ken
Hi Nick,
Yes, I am three days after my cath removal. It was in for 23 days. Today is the first day that I have felt like I have control of my bladder instead of it controlling me.
I have been doing Kegels when I think of it. That seems to help a bit, I think. But I am still using caution with those because of the incision.
Pre-surgery I was going, what seemed to be, every 10 minutes. Now I am starting to get to the point where I can’t remember when I went last.
Also trying to drink plenty of water to be sure that infection does not take hold.
Hope this helps.
All the best,
C
Good luck tomorrow, Ken! Can’t wait to hear from you.
C
Thanks Chris! I’m starting to get excited and nervous all at the same time:). Worried that something won’t be right. Worried that they will have to put the catheter back in for another week or two for some reason. But I keep telling myself – “2 more nights with a bag (I connect a bag for sleeping),” “1 more night with a bag,” etc. But thanks! I’ll definitely write a full post about the experience tomorrow afternoon – good or bad. Can you tell that I am an “expect-the-worst-and-be-pleasantly-surprised-at-the best” kinda guy?:).
Was doing all the same things that you wrote, count downs, nervous/excited….
Doesn’t feel like it all just happened on Monday. Everyday is better than yesterday. That is my new mantra.
Best to you tomorrow.
Thanks Chris. I don’t know why, but I’m super nervous right now. Fingers crossed!
I totally understand. I had a hard time sleeping the night before as I am sure you did.
It sounds like you have a great doctor and that your team of people have taken all the right steps and that you have been doing all the right things for you to make a great recovery. I think you are going to have a great day.
I am looking forward to hearing how your day went.
Best of luck.
C
Today is it for me. I have my vcug, and I’m hoping all is well. At this point, my mouth is almost healed completely, and the only “pain” I feel is from night time erections if the tube pulls wrong. It will be so nice to finally be free from having to plan your life around peeing.
Good luck Josh! It is the greatest feeling. You will be smiling whenever you pee after the test.
Look forward to hearing from you after your test too.
All the best,
C
So how did it go? My VCUG was today too and so far so AWESOME! They let me go without putting the catheter back in, which was my fear. Everything went well. I have peed like a big boy for the first time in 6 months and I almost blew the back of the toilet off;). Well, not quite that. But I DID have to cry out “holy shit” (startling my wife into asking what was wrong for a second) and step back another foot from the toilet due to the strong stream. Incredible.
I passed the vcug, no problems there. I couldn’t pee laying on the table, so had to use the restroom and they took pictures after. My stream is far better than it was, though not the fire hose I was expecting. Doc said I should see stream improve over time but I definitely can’t complain. I actually feel empty now when i’m done. He did say my bladder is scarred from being in urine retention for so long. I have absolutely no burning when peeing, which surprises me after catheter removal, but I’m thankful. Overall, I’m quite pleased and look forward to full recovery. I wish I would have done it from the beginning, but it wasn’t the treatment of choice 20 years ago. To anyone considering it, do it, you won’t regret it.
Great news Josh! I also had a hesitation while lying on the table, which was a moment of slight almost-panic. But after 4 or 5 seconds, it came. Isn’t it awesome to not have pain when we pee? I’d had it for so long I don’t remember ever not having it. Good luck with your continued recovery!
Ken
Great news Josh! Was wonder how you and Ken did today. I am so happy to hear that you are both “tube-free”.
It is a great feeling to be empty for once isn’t it? Good luck with your remaining recovery.
All the best to you.
C
i’m very happy for you. i know how it feels to live with catheters and undergo procedure after procedure to get strictures corrected. i had to deal with a recurring hypospadias and fistulas for many years before stabilize to a point when i can live comfortably. i had to go through VCUGs after VCUGs and UROFLOWs to see if the procedure was successful. Though I still have to do periodic dilations, my stricture is manageable.
Thanks for that comment, Vincent! It’s good to know it is at least manageable.
Ken
Hi, Ken. I hope that your follow-ups have been good and that you have no issue any longer.
I stumbled across this page because I am doing a little research in preparation for a urethroplasty in a few days by Dr. Rowena DeSouza in Houston. I have a single bulbar urethral stricture about a centimeter long, so I hope that primary anastomosis is done without the need of a buccal graft.
Anyway, earlier this year, I saw Dr. Rozanski because I live in same city as his practice. After meeting with him, I decided to get a second opinion, looked for a specialist in Houston (a city I visit fairly frequently), and found Dr. DeSouza. Personal preference and rapport/comfort with a physician is important and I decided to go with Dr. DeSouza.
I just wanted to contact you because I too have seen Dr. Rozanski, am having a similar procedure done, and wanted to thank you for putting this page together as a resource for what to expect for this relatively rare surgery.
AC. I’m so glad that something here could help you! I agree with you about doctors and rapport. But I have come to a different point of view when it comes to surgeons. It doesn’t bother me if my surgeon is really “confident.” I was an officer in the Air Force and it seemed to me that the best fighter pilots were the ones who were like that. I believe the same is often true for surgeons. But whichever way you get it, having confidence in your surgeon is certainly important.
It sounds like your stricture is really similar to mine. I wish you good luck in your surgery. BTW, everything has been good, and the actual problem is definitely fixed. I still have pain in the scrotum though. Everyone I’ve seen has said there is nothing actually wrong. So it must be nerves that are still over-excited or something. But I’m really glad to have read on that other forum that many guys have had this same pain for up to a year after. But it does go away, apparently. I’ll certainly write about it if it does.
Again, good luck!
Ken
My husband had a urinary blockage in April. Scary. Never been through anything like this (only32). I hit to the internet and all the pics/videos. He’s not a details guy so I wasn’t getting much from him. After all the routine tests/scans he was diagnosed with stricture. He didn’t know slow, delayed, split stream wasn’t normal- been that way his whole life. Dr. Recommends end-to-end urethraplasty for his 1cm stricture. He’s scheduled for surgery in October and I’m kinda scared. Dr. says he’s likely to lose at least 2cm length from procedure. Did anyone else’s wife/girl friend have any concerns? Did it affect any part of intimate relations?
Hi Ashley. That was exactly the size of my stricture. It’s really small and according to the literature, end-to-end urethroplasty with that small a portion of the urethra involved does not normally affect intimate relations. Sometimes (as with me), there is a period afterward where things need time to get back to normal as far as the – um – “completeness” of the erection. But form other forums, and my own experience, just be patient because that returns to normal too. Your husband is younger than I am. I actually turn 50 next week (yikes – hard to believe). So it might be much better and faster for him. But everything now works as it should:). As usual, I have to remind anyone reading this that I am not a medical professional. I hope all that helps! Good luck to your husband and to you!
Ken
Thanks for getting back so quick. I looked at all the details/pics/videos so early on that it’s made me anxious. It’s just that my husband has had no prior treatment so going into this procedure so while it seems extreme though I know it’s his best chance to have a normal life and not have to self- maintain. Did you have to stay overnight in the hospital? How long was your surgery? Our we have a ore-op next month so I don’t have all the details. He said that my husband will go home same day. Haven’t read of anyone going home same day yet. I read on a site yesterday that it could be 3-6 hrs. Also read about the risks to the legs from the surgery position for long time periods. I also have 3 kids (ages 7-13) that don’t know yet so I’ll need to prepare them as well.
Ashley,
There will be variation between different doctors and how they handle keeping you or sending you home. I was kept overnight, but truth-be-told, I would probably have been better off at home. The only real benefit was the surgeon coming in the next morning to check the site and see that things were looking the way they should. He could have told my wife what to look for and I would have been fine. My surgery was about 3 hours. It’s pretty standard procedure to apply pressure cuffs to legs in surgery these days. They constantly inflate and deflate to prevent the thing you’re talking about. I’m surprised people are still talking about this in 2014. Just be aware of it and maybe ask about it when they are prepping him for surgery. As with any surgery, there will be pain in the area. But he should be given pain medication. This surgery has a high (over 90%) success rate. There is every reason to be positive. Hope that helps.
I am having my stricture surgery next week. I was scared half to death and up several nights, but now I feel better and more at ease after reading about your experience. Thank you for sharing
Christian, I’m so glad my experience and site could do that for you! That was the reason I did this:). I wish you the bst of luck on your surgery. And It would be great to hear how things went when the surgery is done!
Cheers!
Ken
Hello nick i was wondering if you could give me the name of your surgeon? Also in what state in the country do you live? I have a few strictures and was wondering if you would recommend your surgeon?
Hi Ken
I am due to have a urethroplastry done BMG in March. My strciure is about 5 cm long. I live about 2 hours away from the hospital , hence wanted to check how painful is it to travel right after the 2 days of surgery, should i arrange an ambulance to take me home. How was your experience?
Hi Umair. I couldn’t personally say, since I had end-to-end anastomosis, which causes the pain to be in the perineum. You will likely have an easier time sitting down than I did. But still, I would think that driving 2 hours would be difficult and painful. I would recommend having somebody drive you. Good luck with your surgery!
Ken
Thanks Ken – Sorry someone will be driving indeed but just wanted to check if you reckon its doable, last thing i want is those stiches opening up eventually. Also what is your email address, cause i send you a number of messages through the contact thing but never heard from you i reckong you never got them. Mine is usajid1atgmaildotcom
Ken i have pretty much read the entire site and your all your posts and it has definately given me alot of confidence and mentally helped me to prepare for this upcoming surgery. Thank you so much for putting this side together.
I am based in the UK and getting the BMG done in March through one of the top urologist in the Europe. My key concerns or queries are as follows :-
a) How bad is the pain in the initial 2 weeks with the medication. My pain thresholds is low as well like yours ! Also how restricted is the mobility in the first week/or does the wound limits you to be confined to the bed i.e slight movement causes pain for example?
b) How much time do you recommend taking off from work? I have an option to Work from Home. My doctor has sugested to have the catheder in for 3 weeks, i wont be going to office for sure in the first three weeks. However once the catheder is out, can one walk around normally , go to office or you suggest working from home if given an option for some more time?
c) Healing – Gym and exercises , when can this be resumed realisitcally without risking anything? obviously not weight lifting but general cardio exercises for example.
d) the catheder strips advertised, do you post these? do you know if these can be posted to the UK – they are very expensive!! 😀
Look forward to hearing from you
Hello Umair.
I am from Greenville SC and My urologist was Dr. Marguet. He did the urethroplasty January 14. I was in the hospital one day. He had another doctor perform the Buccal Mucosal Graft and then replaced my 3cm Urethral Stricture with the new tissue. I was given Morphine for the first few hours after the surgery but it was really not needed because of the numbness in the area. When I went home the next day I was given Norco a common painkiller. I was also given special mouthwash for the Buccal Graft although I also use coconut oil for a mouth rinse. The pain has been rather easy. My pain level reached a 5 last night for the first time since the surgery and that is because I did not take pain meds during the day plus the weight of the catheter tube that goes into the bag attached to the leg was pulling on me. I have had four prior surgeries to open the urethra by cutting the stricture but they do not last long because of the bodies need to heal and create scar tissue. This will be the last surgery I will need for the stricture if God is willing. I have dealt with the stricture since the year 2000 after a spine surgery. I am fortunate I am out of work at this time so no need to really push myself. I do what I did before surgery but I do not lift, stoop, or bend over. Other than that I do what I want. I will take the pain medicine today and not try to hold out and suffer like I did last night. You will do great and I look forward to hearing how you are. The doctor gave me an antibiotic, Valium for spasms. You will need to take one before bed because at night most men get an erection and that does not feel well plus it pulls on the area that was fixed. Peace
Thanks Brian
Good to hear from. And about your experience. Apologies I did post instantly to you message above but it never got posted.
I am glad things went well for you mine is a 5cm structure so slightly longer than yours in the number area. I have booked 3-4 weeks of work as sick leave and hoping to work from home after that for sometime u till I am comfortable heading back to the office.
Tell how uncomfortable was the journey back home in a car? I live about 2.5 hours away from the hospital and will have a friend to drive me home ? Is it ok to travel or should I arrange an ambulance?
Also what about seating on a sofa ? How are you managing that is it uncomfortable ?
Email me on usajid1dotgmaildotcom
I’ll jump in Umair – in case what I did might help. I sat on an inflatable donut just about everywhere, but even that didn’t help much unless I was able to lean back so that the weight was mostly on on my lower back/hips area and not coming straight down over my crotch. At home, lying down worked, but having a recliner chair with the inflatable donut was the best – again, with the donut more under the very back of your butt so that the pressure was off the surgical area. One thing to note, here, though, is that you’ll need to have something supporting your scrotum/perineal area like tight underwear or an athletic supporter, because if you let things hang too loose, it may temporarily feel better, but it interrupts healing. Hope this helps.
Hi Umair
As like you I have been suffering from a urethral stricture at penile urethra so I want to know about your story after BMG urethoplasty and where you had that and what is situation after, where you live iam Pakistan
Regards Ali Anwar
Thanks ken
Few quick ones
1) I orderd the cathederI strips which arrived today . Would 10 strips be sufficient for the three weeks of catheter use ? They are expensive!! 🙂 but I hope it all works now and I get the comfort I need based on your posts
2) I am a heavy guy and a bit concerned how I am going to manage sitting and number 2 specially in the initial three weeks . You mentioned that it may be better to use soft pillows as well and could roll towels and keep it underneath as well to support? How long will this be needed first three weeks ? Up until the Cathder is out ?
3) I have taken 3-4 weeks off , is that sufficient you reckon for recovering . I would potentially work from after that for a week rather then heading straight to office but just wanted to check if I can walk n all ok after the 3 weeks and would I be needing the donut pillow . I have a an office job.
Hi Umair / Ken & others,
Thought I would give my 2p worth of information. I too am in the UK and have undergone a Urethroplasty in the past month. My OP was the 2nd of Jan so I am well into the recovery stage now and things are great.
My surgeon (Dr Anderson) suggested that I would need a graft but once he got in there it was apparent I didn’t need one so have had an end to end instead. When I woke after the surgery (about 5 1/2 hrs) I didn’t feel any real pain and the time spent in hospital (2 days) I was relatively pain free. I opted to have some mild pain killers but more for a preventative measure than anything else. I had a leg bag catheter for 3 weeks which will take a few days to get used to, especially sleeping but you get used to it although night time erections with the catheter in are uncomfortable.
As Ken says the most comfortable is to try to recline so your weight is not over your perineum but more your lower back/buttocks area. You will gradually be able to sit more upright but it can get sore so just keep reclining. I had a twice daily routine of cleaning the incision and applying polyfax ointment. Also apply it to the catheter tube and tip of your penis as it helps with the tube rubbing. It really helped the wound to heal.
Towards the end of the 3 weeks I did notice some, what appeared to be tissue in the catheter tube. I can only assume that this was in fact some stitches dissolving as there was no pain and no blood in the urine but it did freak me out initially.
I had my catheter out on the 26th and my flow is excellent. Feels great to be empty. I’m drinking plenty and sometimes still need to go every hour but this must be the bladder just needing to get used to being full. It’s getting better daily.
Regarding scrotum pain, I did have this and do still a little. The scrotum was sore and tender but is much better. Still a little tender but nothing like it was and walking and movement is much more comfortable.
I haven’t engaged in any intimate activities yet as erections were a little sore and had a few drops of blood come out the end after having an erection for 10 minutes last week so waiting a little longer till I’m not sore (much to the missus displeasure) .
Hope my insight helps you, I too was nervous but I am glad I have had it done and hopefully won’t need any treatment again.
All the best
Neill
Hi Neill. Thanks so much for your story! I’m glad to hear it all went well. Good luck moving forward!
Cheers,
Ken
Neil
Good to hear from you. Where did youe t your treatment done ?
I am getting done through Anthony Mundy in London bridge hospital privately . My understanding is that he is supposedly the top urogist in the uk ( I guess we will find that out soon)
I am glad to hear that you are recovering well. How long was your stricture per the urethrogram ?
Also how was your experience after the three weeks visit to remove the catheder? Did they do the urethrogram to check if it’s sealed tight and all ?
Ken,
Thank you for letting me share and hopefully help others.
Umair,
I honestly don’t know my stricture length but must have been less than 2cm as otherwise I’m sure I would have had a graft. I do intend to find out at my 3 month check.
Yep I had a urethrogram first and my urologist was very happy that it was sealed so he removed the catheter then and there. Was such a relief and happy that all had gone well. 6 weeks ago tomorrow I would be going for my op and it already seems so long ago.
Hope your procedure goes well and do keep us updated. Any more questions please ask.
Thanks
Neill
Hi I had a buccal graft Urethroplasty carried out by Professor Mundy on 3rd February. He came highly recommended by a friend of a friend who is also a top urologist. I’m now back at work (in an office). The care at London Bridge Hospital is excellent and I was only in overnight. Nothing to fear! After three weeks the urethrogram was painless (it was pericatheter – a small tube inserted alongside the catheter). Professor Mundy is the best in the UK at this procedure, I’ve been assured.
Thanks Simon! We appreciate the success story. It really helps the folks out there, especially those who are just about to go through this. And good luck moving forward with your repair:)!
Ken
Hi Neil, (and thanks to you and All who have commented so frankly, it is reassuring).
Re: Dr Anderson:
I was wondering how you have been in long term since your op. The reason I ask is that I believe we may be under the same surgeon, Mr/Dr? Paul Anderson, based in Dudley…?
I met with him in Jan 2015 but circumstances prevented him from going ahead then but hopefully I may be dealt with Feb/March 2016. I’ve suffered with a stricture for about 25 years and have had a several urethrotimies but in sept 2014 it became completely “blind” so I have had a suprapubic catheter for well over a year now.
Perhaps you may be able to comment on your long term progress, particularly if it indeed was Paul Anderson who carried out your op.
Regards to All, Duncan
Thanks folks – mine is estimated to be 5cm long ouch !!! Will keep you guys in the loop its on the 31st March!!
Neil/ ken
I have ordered the memory foam donut pillow. I know both of mentioned to ensure appropriate support is in place for the contents and not to leave them hanging loose . I mainly use slips, would they be sufficient or do you have any specific one you recommend ? A link will be nice so I can order these.
Also ken in one of your posts you mentioned to roll up towels etc. where do you keep those in the hollow hole of donut pillow ?
Neil did you use the donut pillow ?
Folks getting operated by me Mundy on Tuesday wish me luck will be in here as soon as I am out!
Good luck Umair!!
Ken
Hi ken
Had my urethroplastery yesterday!!! So far so good can’t complain. Everything is normal so far not much pain , urine is clear and no signs of blood. I was expecting slot of pain in the mouth reading posts here but so far not much just have stitches so it feels like having a patch of stitches but nothing else…
dint know much more about the surgery but I am told it turned about to be a 6-7cm structure, haven’t seen my doctor yet but hopping to see him today hopefully.
Will keep you posted !!
Thanks for the update and congrats!! “So far not much pain” is already better than mine:). The night of my surgery was pretty miserable. Good luck moving forward and yes – please do keep us updated. Great news!
Cheers!
Ken
Hi ken
Ready to get discharged and heading home. All signs are normal to date and frankly it’s been vey comfortable todate . As I type this message I have a bandage on, my leg bad strapped and I am comfortably sitting on a chair. Mind you it was a graft I had for a 5-6cm structure. Clean urine bag and touchwood all signs are normal. Mouth doesn’t pain at all!!!
Anyone thinking or in two minds go for it !!
Awesome! Congrats Umair. And thanks for posting:). Sounds like things are going great.
Cheers,
Ken
Yes indeed things are good – home now , emptying the leg bag is a pain!!
I have been given 3 leg bags , how often should I change the bag any ideas ? did you change your pads daily ?
Haven’t been given any medication whatsoever just paracetamol and ibuprofen. I was going to use Vaseline at the tip of the catheder so keep things flowing!
Vaseline is a good idea. Do that. But also wash that area off daily. It gets gunked up. I changed leg bags every 3 weeks or so. Just rinsed it out at night and hung it up when I changed to the bed bag. Then the same in reverse for the bed bag if/when I wanted to change to the leg bag during the day. Though often, if it was a weekend or something, I just stayed with my bedside bag all day. If you do that, watch out for the long tube, which can easily catch on things. That is why I recommend the sticker-type catheter anchors.
For the leg bag, I used an extension tube (it came with my leg bag) and wore it down above my ankle on the outside of my leg. When I needed to empty it, all I had to do was put my foot up on the toilet, pull up my pant leg a bit, unhook the stretchy band at the bottom of the bag (there is one at top and bottom), move the valve over the toilet and open it. the whole process didn’t take much longer than undoing my belt and unbuttoning and unzipping my pants for a regular pee:). I never wore the leg bag up high like some folks do.
I’m not sure what pad you are referring to. Do you mean over your incision site? I didn’t have a pad. They sent me home with medical stretchy underpants that served as a pad and put pressure on the area. But after 24 hours, I went straight to tighty-whiteys:). There was no oozing or bleeding externally from there. But generally speaking, when I had a pad on the SP tube, I would change that every morning and at night before I went to bed.
I hope that all helps!
Ken
Thanks ken very useful
Few points
1) I have been given extra pads and the stretchy pants I think they are pretty good as gives the support but I may switch to normal underwear after a few days. I was told to have a shower on Saturday let the wound heal a bit so planning to do that.
2) I am worried about number 2 haven’t been yet it’s been 2 days… Any suggestions ?
3) I have the Catheder anchors from the hospital and also bought the stick ones from your website so should come handy.
4) the leg bag I have connects directly to the night bag I was told to do that at night but swapping the bags is a good idea indeed.
Also do I sleep straight on my back, can I not take a side ? I haven’t tried as scared of causing any damage given its fresh but just wanted to check your thoughts
So far so good guys !!
Hi Umair
I slept on my back for three weeks, which took some getting used to! But it worked in the end. I am now 10 weeks after the operation, and the flow is still good, and I am able to run, and have resumed normal life. The aftercare from London Bridge Urology was good – when I had questions, Edna, the specialist urology nurse, replied to my calls and my emails. I was very worried about tiny twinges and some slight tingling pain, especially because this was my second urethroplasty (my first was badly done by an inexperienced surgeon 15 years before). I wish I had sought out Tony Mundy before. Now I am pain-free and the flow is still excellent. I wish you good luck, but the Professor has done thousands of these operations, and really is the best choice possible.
SImon
Thanks simon – yes prof seems to have done a good job it seems as I haven’t had much pain. I am at a stage where slight tingling is happening and I had some red rashes around the incision. However got it cleaned and it’s much better then. My urethrogram
is on the 20th couldn’t come sooner !!. Edna is pretty good indeed.
How long was your stricture and was it a graft mine was 6-7cm !! Also how frequent are your follow ups is your insurance covering them or you went private ?
Simon when did you start driving and went back to work etc? Do you have an office job ?
My scrptum swelling is 90% gone it’s just the incision wound now that I am awaiting to heal
Hi Umair,
good to hear things are on the mend Umair. To answer some of your questions:
1. I started driving as soon as the catheter came out, so 3 weeks after the op. No problems at all.
2. I have an office-based job (I am a chartered accountant). I went back 5 weeks after the op, but I am still on reduced hours (80% of full workload) 10 weeks after the op, as I am taking it easy. Sitting at a desk for 8 hours a day is still a little tiring, but I am hoping to get back to full speed soon. Where I work has a very good occupational health advisor who is a former nurse, and so I can take it slowly.
3. My stricture was 5 cm. I had an anastamotic urethroplasty in 2000 which didn’t work so I was catheterising myself weekly, which made the stricture quite long. The graft from my mouth was quite large but it has healed. The day after i went back to work i was able to give a training course to a room of colleagues, and there was no problem with my voice.
4. I have a follow up urethrogram advised after one year, but no other quicker follow up. I can always arrange another appointment with the Prof if needed, and after a previous urethroplasty i am aware of what i need to look out for if a problem arises.
5. I had no insurance to cover this (as it was a pre-existing problem and second urethroplasty, no policy I looked at would have allowed it) so I paid privately. I would have had to wait for 3 months or more to get it done on the NHS and I was advised by a very eminent urologist who is a friend of my wife’s colleague to go to Professor Mundy, given it would be much more complicated because it was a repeat operation, and my local hospital’s urologist would not have the experience.
best wishes and I am sure it will all be well.
Simon
Thanks Simon – One thing coming between both of us apart from the steicture is chartered accountancy
Thanks Simon – One thing common between both of us, besides the stricture is chartered accountancy
Simon not sure why my last message didn’t get posted fully.
1) how old are you ? I am 31. Prof told me that everything will be normal after 6 weeks max so I was hoping to WFH the end of april and join office in May perhaps.
2) when did you realize that the first Urethroplasty wasn’t successfull. I understood that shouldn’t have to do self cstherization hence I went for this surgery vs urethrotomy for a better quality of life ofcourse.
Hi Umair
I am 44. 6 weeks doesn’t seem unreasonable to get back to work, I think Prof M is right, from my experience.
I realised the last operation wasn’t successful really quickly. There were a lot of complications from the start – infections, blood clots – and I was in hospital for 5 days after the op, and then back in again a few days later for another week, my catheter was in for 5 weeks. There was no real improved flow when the catheter came out, and a new stricture had formed very quickly. My experience with Prof Mundy was totally different – my first op wasn’t a graft, but given the size of the stricture should have been i think.
You shouldn’t have to do self-catheterisation. I did that because my surgeon did a urethrotomy 4 months after my last op – which in hindsight I shouldn’t have had, I should have just had another urethroplasty.
Simon well done for having the b***s to go through another two operations and I am glad it’s all worked out for you.
Was your wound fully healed from outside when you went for the urethrogram on the third week?. Mine is healing I still have 5 days to go but not sure yet if it will be fully healed by this Monday! .
Hi Umair
this sounds like my experience, the wound still had all its stitches in place and was not fully healed when the catheter came out, but it wasn’t too bad. I knew it would take a while. 10 weeks on the stitches have all gone and it’s faded now. The first op i had left a very bad scar, but Prof Mundy seems to have tidied it all up and it looks a lot better. It really fades away to nothing after just a few more weeks, 3 weeks after the op isn’t that long for the wound.
good luck with the urethrogram and getting the catheter out! I really hope it has gone well and i am sure it has.
Simon
Thanks Simon – fingers crossed will update here on Monday!
Hi guys
Had my urethrogram today all good in the hood, my catheder is out. Have been to the toilet three times since then, certainly great improvement in the flow but haven’t been able to pee properly cause a lot of burning sensation so I have to kinda hold back the flow and beon the toes when peeing. Plus spraying as well! doctor did say it should normalize in a few days but man some pressure !!! Relieved !
Now I haven’t been scheduled for any follow ups just asked by my doctor to have a urethrogram after 9-12months if I wanted to its not cometary to check its all good etc. again no compulsion and he kinda said to me ok have a good life !!
Hi Umair. Congrats on being cath-free! I am sorry to hear about the burning and I hope that goes away very soon. Also, the spraying sounds bothersome as well. Hopefully it’s just irritation up there from where the catheter was. So they didn’t want to do a flow test? Huh. I had one scheduled for 3 months after surgery. Maybe you could request one if you want one. I guess it’s not standard procedure if the doc thinks all is “good in the hood:)”
Congrats again! And thanks for keeping us updated.
Cheers!
Ken
Ya it doesn’t see the norm here cause simon and I share the same surgeon and he was recommended the same . Plus I don’t think we would have got good results today anyways because I am peeing intermittently cause of the severe burning sensation. It’s much better now, hopefully will normalize in the next 48 hours I am told. The wound although is tight but healing in progress I guess. He said the surgery site outside with striches etc is an indication of what’s inside. In essence I am probably 70-80% healed and need the next three weeks to be all sorted but man what a relief !
He placed sole reliance on the urethrogram by the looks of it and even the radiologist within a minister was like wow this looks pretty good , it’s all sorted … I was really wow! . The surgeon said the same thing . Have you been told to get the xray done later at some stage ?
Hi
glad to know it’s all well! I was advised to have a one year urethrogram as well, and no more formal follow up before then, so that is Professor Mundy’s normal regime. However you can always arrange to see him at any time before. The burning is pretty normal, and I was still getting it off an on for a few weeks after the catheter came out. It does take a while to heal up, and i’ve been advised it can be months until it’s completely ok so i’ve had to learn to be patient. I have had to avoid a number of things which irritate my urethra and can cause it to flare up and get painful – diet soda and decaf coffee were the worst things I found. I reintroduced decaf coffee at the weekend and made myself sore again, so that wasn’t wise! Also i developed a bad case of haemorrhoids probably due to the pressures around the operation site so that didn’t help! But it does get better and better and just keep getting enough fluids. My flow is still great nearly three months later, and i also had the spraying which soon resolved itself into a more normal flow.
Good to hear from you simon. The burning has pretty much disappeared today. The flow is like a hose pipe, struggling to handle the pressure is my problem !!! It brings a smile on my face every time I go now. Bladder function is slowly getting back to normal although I have to go and pee about 7-8 times but was told it will take 48 hours for the bladder to normalize. Prof seemed very confident about his work I guess he knows when to have regular checkups and when not to after looking at the urethrogram… Even the annual one he was like if you wish to have it you may it’s not comlulsary.
Glad to hear the burning has gone. I’m off again to London Bridge Hospital to see a colorectal surgeon as I think what i thought was burning / urethral pain was actually something else entirely based nearer my bottom! I suspect it’s just a side effect of having a second urethroplasty in the same place and shifting my weight backwards, which has opened up an old anal fissure / caused some piles. Oh well! At least the urethra is sorted and in comparison to what i had before this is a walk in the park …
Hopefully nothing major for you simon. I am recovering well. It will be 4 weeks on the 31st. My stream is good however sometimes I get split street going on the side with the main one as it or spraying. I obviously create a mess so my mrs is t loving it !! But it’s a hit and miss like it’s happening 2 in 10 times at the moment. Is this normal ?
The wound has striches still , the end of the incision close to the bottom has some reddish skin and rashes I hope that should clear up soon! I am back to driving and walking around fine
HI all was well with me yesterday at LBH, nothing major. The split stream did happen at the start as everything was so strong and there was a lot of spraying. The flow I had just after the catheter came out has gradually become just a little less powerful and more focussed, which I believe is fairly common as things settle down inside with the graft, but it’s still a very good strong flow and i am voiding a full bladder completely in 13-15 seconds, which i’m very happy about 3 months after the op.
At the base of the would it took longer for that section to heal, that’s very common. That was where i had the drain in.
Thanks for the update, Simon. It sounds like things are getting better. Good luck moving forward!
Cheers!
Ken
Thanks simon – yes I am finding the same, stream has become more focussed And slightly reduced of course when the cath came out.
Ok sounds good I guess. I just had a slight itchiness but that’s normal I guess. I continue to do everything normally and the recovery is going well. All the best !
The strictest have all dissolved however the wounds from the stiches on the sides at the bottom are still a little raw and taking time to heal. Certainly the ones towards the bottom. It’s been 6 weeks now! Still going strong
Thanks for the update, Umair. Remember that some of us had pain down there for many months before it went, Hang in there!
Cheers!
Ken
Thanks ken – I am lucky I don’t have lain as such however skin is still healing and a little raw to say the least. I am hoping it should get sorted this week hopefully
Hi Umair,
I had exactly the same rawness in the same place – and now 15 weeks in everything has cleared up and there’s nothing there. As as I said above what I thought was post-operative pain from the Urethroplasty was actually the complication of an anal fissure, as everything was settling down ‘down there’. Sometimes we forget it’s actually quite a massive operation and the fact we’re all walking around and functioning normally a few weeks later is a massive miracle!!!!!
One thing I have had some problems with has been the dribbling after urination, which can happen up to 5 minutes after I leave the bathroom. It’s improving as my muscles down there get stronger.
Hi Simon – good to hear from you !. I agree completely, it certainly is a miracle. I have some superficial wounds which are still healing I.e the ends where the stiches entered and exited from and where the drain was I think. They are all further down right towards he end. It’s healing but slowly. Certainly no pain and isn’t causing any problem whatsoever but just a little raw that all. I will keep that 15 weeks timeline in my head now ! It’s been 7 weeks now – still going strong !!!
Hi Simon
Hope all is well. I wanted to run something. I still have a spot which is not more like a red tissue hanging , perhaps where the drain was. I can feel there is still a stichbunderneath underneath this.
Does this sound similar ? This point is not paining or anything but is taking time to heal and shrink. I spoke with Edna and she didn’t seem too concerned said was normal like 3-4 weeks ago. However I am having second thoughts now and wanted run it past you before you to check you had something similar before I contact them
HI Umair
sorry I hadn’t seen this, I had a redder area where the drain was, that took far longer to heal than elsewhere on the scar. It was a much larger piece of skin, and very raw, but eventually it recovered completely, so i wouldn’t worry about it
SImon
HI Umair
if you wanted to contact me directly about anything, my email address can be found by searching at my employer – the University of Reading – and my surname is Mealor.
Simon
Hi All, I was wondering if anyone has heard from Neil lately. I left an enquiry dated 1st January 2016, re: his surgeon Dr/Mr Anderson in uk, that is posted in the thread above between a March 2015 post of Ken’s and a February one of Umair’s.
Any comments please?
Regards. Duncan
Hi Duncan, I’m in the UK too. I was advised that these are the best at this procedure in the South/Mid of the UK:
N Watkin
P Anderson
D Dickinson
D Andrich
Prof Mundy (Most experienced)
I went for consultations with most of these and went with Dr Watkin myself. It’s was tricky to decide.
This list is really useful as it shows you the number of procedures each surgeon did and their success rate (some info is missing though)
https://www.baus.org.uk/patients/surgical_outcomes/urethroplasty/surgeons.aspx
Thanks for posting that info, Jamie!
Ken
Go for professor Mundy hands down the best there is in Europe and world number 1/2 when it comes to this procedure. He is based in London bridge hospital. His track records speaks for him and is world famous
Hi all, had my bulbar Urethroplasty 7 days ago. Scheduled to get the catheter out on day 12, can’t wait! A couple of questions if anyone could help:
1. Morning erections have been a problem for me. I’ve been woken up by very sharp shooting pain followed by intense throbbing in the Urethra behind the testicles (Where my 2.5cm stricture was). Is this a sign of further damage, anyone had something similar and been okay?
2. Also is it always normal to have a Urethrogram prior having the catheter removed to check that everything has healed properly? My doctor said they just do a flow rate on the day and then again 2 months after, though I’d really like the piece of mind of knowing it’s healed as it should on the day.
So far I have found that the wound between my legs hasn’t been that bad, my testicles were black after but again surprisingly not that painful. My inside cheek was stitched which was great and basically pain free to begin with though the stitches didn’t hold and it opened up and has become a bit sore. The catheter caused quite a lot of bleeding and pain around the tip and I’ve been applying antibiotic ointment and olive oil as a natural lube which helps somewhat.
Thanks for posting, Jamie. You’re more than half-way to having the catheter out. That’s great! I can only speak for myself about the sharp pain you mention, but I don’t remember having that. But that doesn’t mean it’s abnormal. Whenever I had unexpected pains, I called the doctor’s office and left a message with my question. They always called back and either told me it was OK, or asked me to come in so they could have a look. Even though there were times when they didn’t THINK I should be having pain in a certain place, their exams always showed everything was fine. So I think it’s quite possible that different folks will experience different aches and pains in the days and weeks after surgery. But you should call your doc’s office just to be on the safe side.
As for the urethrogram before removal, I don’t know if it’s a BAD think not to have one before they remove the tube, as long as your flow rate is checked and there isn’t any blood in the urine. I assume (remember – I’m a non medical professional just guessing here) it would be fairly obvious if the stitching didn’t “take.” So the lack of a urethrogram may not be a problem. But again…ask your doc about it:).
Good luck getting through the next 5 days!
Cheers!
Ken
Thanks Ken, good on you for making this site!
For the morning erections the last couple of nights before I slept I moved the catheter leg bag and tied it around the chest. I’m feeling much better, no more pain and this morning was the first time without any blood at the tip. I’m not sure if I should of been doing this from the beginning and if this is what others did?
Found it recommended here, hope it’s okay to ad the link:
https://www.medhelp.org/posts/Urology/Pain-inside-my-bladder-when-getting-an-erection-with-cather-while-sleeping/show/1608206#post_answer_header
Also spoke to the Doc about the Urethrogram and he said that a Urethrogram will almost always show things are perfect so can be misleading and also runs the risk of introducing infection so he doesn’t do them. The Doc seems like a good guy and does a lot of these.
The first week was tough but as of day 9/10 I feel pretty good, even the catheter isn’t really a bother.
Awesome stuff, Jamie. Thanks for the update. And yeah, it’s OK to post that link:). I read the thread there and it absolutely makes sense to leave enough slack between the tip of the penis and the place where the bag is secured. I always secured it to my leg in such a way that there was plenty of slack, but that the bag was secured (VERY secured) to the leg. the reason for that is to prevent the potential disaster of the bag falling and ripping the catheter out(!). that’s why I always used the bedside bag and placed it onto the floor, the tube being long enough to accommodate that. One other thing to be careful about – the urine needs to always be moving in the same direction – out and away from your bladder. You don’t ever want it to go in the other direction, back in to your bladder. So you need to make sure you keep the bag below your bladder (distance from the ground) to prevent the backward flow.
Anyway, thanks again for posting your update. So glad things are better for you now!!
Cheers,
Ken
Hi Jamie,
Great to hear you were recovering well, hope you are completely recovered now and living a wonderful life.
I am considering going for this operation pretty soon and would like to know how was your experience with your urologist in particular.
Thanks Again.
Hi Sam, unfortunately mine doesn’t seem to have worked 100%. I’ve been put back to sleep a couple more times since to check and there is a junctional stenosis at the distal end which was around a 14-15 French a couple of months back. On a positive the operation itself was not nice but not as bad as you may think; being 32 years young and eating well I healed up quickly. Be sure to dose up on Oramorph for at least the first 3-5 days post op.
Not sure if anyone can help with the following: For me flow rate was never much of a problem at all (was about 14), as I’ve lived fine with it for over a decade. What’s been a problem is the chronic pain which started after a fairly brutal Cystoscopy investigating the stricture a year ago. Since then I have had fairly classic infection symptoms yet no infection has been found through tests although I have white blood cells in both the urine and prostate cultures. The hope was that surgery would somehow relieve this. Although Doctors rarely acknowledge it there are un-cultable bacteria which can cause pain and problems as per this for example: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2094902-new-life-form-discovered-in-saliva-is-linked-to-human-disease/ and the infection tests for UTI’s are notoriously unreliable: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3751172/Doctors-dismiss-mistreat-women-suffering-life-wrecking-urinary-tract-infections-consultant-says.html Antibiotics for me always give massive temporary relieve, and taking D Mannose plus increasing water intake helps. I have been given a lot of short courses of antibiotics (Ciproflaxin) which seems to have introduced side effects so if I am going back onto Antibiotics I really want to make sure they are the right ones… Both Antibiotics and 2nd Surgery seem a daunting prospect for me.
Any thoughts what to do next would be much appreciated? Most importantly what could be causing the pain, is it still the stricture triggered by the Cystoscopy or some sort of undiagnosed infection triggered or introduced by the Cystoscopy? Thanks for reading!
Hi Jamie, did you ever get to the bottom of this?
Hello everyone,
I just thought I’d share my experience of a urethroplasty because others experiences have been so helpful.
I had mine done on 1stv September to correct a 3cm stricture. They took a buccal mucosa graft. The operation took about 4 hours. I was given a spinal block and a general anaesthetic. When I woke up, my mouth hurt more than my groin area, but they explained this was probably due to the effects of the spinal. I was discharged the next day.
So far, the pain has been tolerable. I absolutely hate having a catheter and can’t seem to get comfortable unless reclining perfectly still. Any kind of movement causes discomfort, and I’m not sleeping well because of it but it’s nothing I can’t live with for another 10 days.
One major problem is constipation. I had my first bowel movement a few hours ago and it was more painful than tougher my groin area or my mouth! It took about 2 hours and sitting on the toilet for that long can’t have been good for the incision site. The constipation will be due to the general anaesthetic, the spinal block and the codeine they have given me for pain relief, so I’m disappointed they didn’t also prescribe a stool softener or laxative.
Another problem is that my catheter keeps getting blocked with little blood clots. I have called the ward and they’ve assured me it’s nothing to worry about. Shaking the tube where I can see the clots is enough to get things flowing again.
Overall, the surgery hasn’t been the walk in the park that it had for some, mainly due to the catheter, but I’m only 4 days post op and I’m hoping things will improve when the catheter comes out in 10 days.
I hope that’s helpful to someone
Alan
Hey Ken
I’ve read you post about Stricture. I’m 34 years old and dealing with mt stricture for a couple years now. Tomorrow I’m having my Anastomotic Urethroplasty. Honestly I’m a little nervous… It’s my first surgery. I’m just wondering if you were on bed rest when you came home and for how long before you were back to normal mobility
Good luck with the surgery, Andrew! I was kept in the hospital for one night. But I was not on bed rest after that:) when I got home. I did spend most of the next week in a recliner chair with a donut pillow though. I would say my mobility after that was only really limited by the catheter. After that was removed, I avoided “bouncy” activities for what I hope are obvious reasons. So I walked but did not jog. I was able to get back to that after about 4-6 weeks, I’d say – if I’m remembering correctly.
Hope that helps!
Ken
Surgery went good doctor said he cut a 1.5cm. Wasnt too painful I’m home now catheter and all. My Doctor never gave me a doughnut to sit on. Guess what I bought on my way home… Pain isn’t too bad at the moment it’s the constipation is my problem.
Hello Everyone,
This site is a welcome relief for someone like myself who suffers from a urethral stricture. I was first diagnosed with an urethral stricture about ten years ago; since then I’ve had two urethrotomy procedures, each about five years apart – the last was in 2010. Around August 10th of this year my stricture closed completely and I am now living with an indwelling catheter which was inserted after dilation at the local emergency department – I live in Edmonton, Alberta (western Canada).
On August 18 I saw a Dr. Keith Rourke (Associate Professor, Specialist in Reconstructive Urological Surgery at the University of Alberta, Faculty of Medicine). He recommended urethroplasty as a long term solution since further incision of the urethra can lead to complications. He has scheduled me for a cystoscopy as well as a retrograde urethrogram on December 07. Before leaving his office his assistant removed the indwelling catheter, warning me that my stricture could return. Well two days later it did and I returned to the emergency where they re-inserted a Foley catheter which I’m currently living with.
Not content with the lengthy wait time I started looking at options in the USA. I contacted a Dr. Joel Gelman (Director, Center for Reconstructive Urology – University of California, Irvine Medical Center. He was willing to see me in a week and perform the surgery in two to three weeks. However, because of the indwelling catheter he would not be able to properly evaluate me. He said the evaluation is best done when there is nothing in the urethra for at least 2.5 months. I’ve conveyed this information to my family physician who does not seem too be overly concerned – she said it’s just a matter of preference with each surgeon. It’s next to impossible to contact Dr. Rourke’s office since the secretary never seems to answer the phone.
Hopefully, someone can shed some light on the indwelling catheter situation. Certainly appreciated.
Everard
Hi Everard,
My doctor wanted the same thing. So that is why I had a suprapubic catheter for so many months. He said they don’t know exactly how large the stricture is until after it has been free from irritation (by a urethral catheter or by trying to pass urine through it) for awhile. I don’t think this is universal though. So I can only tell you what I experienced. Maybe someone else can chime in?
I hope that helps.
Ken
Hi ken, thank you and all for all your comments, I’m a 31 year old male from Chicago who is having the urethroplasty done this coming wednesday the 23rd lucky me! I’m super nervous and scared at the same time, I’ve first had urunary retention in 2011 and was rushed in the ER, they inserted a catheter for a few days and then took it out and i seemed to urine fine, doc says well if you have any more problems you will need surgery in future, didn’t really say why or how but yea. Fast forward I’ve had a few instances where i couldn’t pass urine at all, every time i had to force it out to get a couple dribbles. this past june i went mountain biking in wisconsin and it was a very hot day i had a hydration pack which i kept refilling and i drank about 3 gallons of water mixed with nuun (electrolyte) tabs, i know whenever i drink a lot of fluids or drink fast i have problems, its like my bladder can’t process it fast enough, so i remember stopping multiple times gotten the urge to urinate and having a hard time, had to push hard to get a little out, the following morning is where it all led to this. i was getting an urge every 5 min, i was squeezing and forcing out so much that my penis was hurting like 10 being highest pain like it was getting cut off. i went to the ER and they had a hard time inserting catheter 3 times, so they had only one option with my bladder still being full as it was barely emptied from all the fluids night before, so suprapubic cath was insterted had no choice, to this day i till have a suprapubic in since june, the doc said its a process, whatever they have me come in for its 4-6 weeks, like after having supra public put in then i had to wait 6 weeks before they did the camera thing where they put in to measure the stricture then wait another 6 weeks to have the plasty done chichis this week, so yea this has been very frustrating endive been depressed gained about 35 lbs since this all started july. So this wednesday is the urethro plasty my stricture is about 2.5cm or 2cm which doc said its borderline, option 1 pasty alone or option 2 bucco thing where they take a part of my inside cheek and form it into tissue and after that it’ll be another 6 weeks they said then they will have to form a tunnel and construct it. So in all Wish me luck guys and i really hope for option 1 where they just cut from both ends P.S i apologize for the bad grammar and wording i may have caused.
i guess people don’t respond
Sorry Adam. Did I missed a question?
Ken
Sry ken, i thought i would get some responses. Anyways i had the surgery november 23rd, and what i was told it would be a 4-5 surgery turned out to be 12 hours, i woke up in recovery to extreme pain in my legs and feet, they felt as they were being out off.
My legs and feet were swollen from being in the stirrups for so long and the doctors said i have lower compartment syndrome and wanted to rush me to ER to perform a fasiotomy, wrong spelling but its where they cut from knee to about anke in both legs to relieve pressure in the legs as they looked like they were about to explode. i kept declining the surgery as over 15 different doctors kept coming and going telling me i need that surgery because my legs are dieing.
I didn’t go forward with the surgery as was released from the hospital after 7 days. was hard to walk at the time and my right foot still has drop foot which my ankle doesn’t move much to this day. But since i declined the fasiotomy surgery they said theres nothing else they can do, recovery by waiting and seeing what happens, i still have some pain in both legs and can’t move my right ankle much. I can walk but super slow with a limp.
Physical therapy hasn’t started yet as i had to wait to get an order from doctor and now have to wait for my insurance to approve it. so over 3 weeks since left hospital and can’t even get therapy right away. What a shame. Now my urethralplasty went ok i guess, i change the yellow gauze daily where it needs to go under the tube where the incision is made, the incision got extended stretched open more, i don’t know why, i try to use a inflatable donut when i can and have been driving for 2 weeks already but mostly on bed rest.
I had the skin graft done and my cheek pain went away now but still feel it isn’t smooth where they cut it. Doctor said in 3 months from nov 23rd i will have the second surgery to do a 2nd graft to be placed on top and then formed thats if the 1st graft tissue is accepted. But I’m worried my legs will have same problem when i have my second surgery, they said they cannot readjust during surgery and are not sure how long this coming surgery will take.
PLEASE COMMENT AND LET ME KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS, or if anyone had similar problem, I’ve tried to do google research and found some info but no one ever declined the surgery of cutting legs open like i did, even the doctors said nobody ever said no in similar situation
Wow Adam! that sounds awful. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of that before I read your comment. So I’m sorry I can’t offer much in the way of help for the problem you had with your legs. I’m not usually a fan of surgery for surgery’s sake, but maybe you should think about telling the doctor for next phase that if your legs start to swell like that again, to go ahead and do that surgery you mentioned? I hope someone else reads this and knows more about fasciotomy. Best of luck with what’s coming up!
Hello Adam,
I am extremely sadden to learn about your leg complication. I hope and pray that the insurance company has already approved your physical therapy sessions.
As for me, back on Nov 29th., i had my Urethral Reconstruction surgery with a buccal graft and 3 weeks later, my catheter was removed and i’m peeing like a Race Horse! 🙂
I live in NJ but my surgery was done in NYC at Lenox Hill hospital. My surgeon’s name is Noel Armenakos. The man is GOOOOOOOD! Yes, i had to exaggerate the word good 🙂
Similiar to you, days before my scheduled surgery one of my strictures decided to close up 🙁 Of course, i had to be rushed to thr ER and they butchered me 🙁 I kept telling them that i have a scheduled surgery because i have blocked strictures. Therefore, they should not force a catheter in my urethra via my penis. Fast forward, they ignored me and made 4 attempts with 3 different size catheters and not one of them worked! I bled like a pig 🙁
The ER team did not want to enter my bladder via the abdomen with the suprapubic catheter.
As the ER team left the room to figure out what to do for me, the muscle walls of the closed stricture or my bladder walls gave way and my urine came flying out of my penis!!! I was extremely happy that i urinated and did not care that it went all over the floor and bed! It was like a freight train was lifted off my body and head…
I ran out of the ER room so fast and called for the MD and said, “Your failure was my triumph… I just peed and i am not staying here. You butched me and so, i need you to prescibe some antibiotics for the bleeding because i want no infection…”
I left the ER and was able to urine for the next 36 hours, however, the day before my surgery, i was in pain from trying to pass urine every 20 to 30 mins…
I could only pass drops of urine.
My surgery was scheduled for 7:30am with a 5:30am check-in time at the hospital and it was not until 12:15am, my body just gave way for the muscles to relax and expand…. And, there came my urine. I was able to empty my bladder and slept for 4 straight hours.
Having those two experiences caused me to say, “Brian, you are much younger than Joan Rivers! Fear not! Nothing is going to happen to you.”
Now, why the heck did i bring up Joan Rivers!!!???
I should have had my surgery since 2015, but with Joan Rivers sudden death, i freaked out and cancelled my surgery. Yes, i chickened out…
Guys, thank you, thank you so much for creating this blog because i really needed to let this out… I have no one to talk to about my condition. This link has become a therapy line for me…
Ken, i give your 10 thumbs up!!!!!
Adam, my surgery took less than 4 hours. I was in recovery before 12 noon.
My legs were fine. I only had some tension in my lower back. It went away after a week. Nothing serious. Could just be that i did not use a donut to sit on or had a reclining chair.
Thanks for your post, Brian! And thanks for posting the name of your surgeon – Noel Armenakos!! So glad this site has helped and that your surgery is done and seems to have been successful. Happy Holidays!
Ken
Hi Brian,
Thanks for your response and I’m glad your surgery went well, I’m curious did you only have one buccal graft? i was told i need 2 one which the first one they did they they said the tissue needs to get accepted down there and in 3 months they will do a second one to where this time they’ll form a passage way for the urine.
Thats if the tissue gets accepted. This all has been driving me crazy,I had to quit my job. my suprapubic has been in since july and i just feel like they are taking their sweet time with and prolonging everything. Im debating if i should switch hospitals at this point and if any other doctors would jump in to where i was left at.
**SOMEONE PLEASE HELP**
I think my catather is getting blocked, my drainage bag is still draining, maybe slowly I’m not sure, bit whats happening is that i get an urge to go and feel pressure like i have to pee I’m standing. i check the hole and back nothing seems to be twisted so why isn’t this urge going away so i go on the toilet and i let loose like i let it out like I’m about to let urine out, (nothing comes out anywhere) theres is pain and pressure for about a good 20 seconds it starts harsh and eventually goes away.
Ive read online it could be bladder spasms, or there is a blockage. I’m not sure, the suprapubic cat looks green inside like its change color, i have both catchers in. i had both put in november 23rd last year. i know they replace them 4-6 weeks and i had that done in the past, but this time it hasn’t been replaced since november 23rd i have a follow up on the 3rd next month and they said they will change then. After this pressure/pain eazes then everything seems normal, but i always feel like I’m trying to hold in from urinating. i check both catchers and nothing seems to be pulled out.
i don’t know if i should go to the hospital right away or wait for the follow up, i mean all this is bearable but its so annoying especially in the middle of the night it wakes me up and i have to rush to the bathroom or spread my legs and release the urge so it calms down and goes away.
That sounds awful. If you can, I recommend seeing a doctor as soon as you can. You shouldn’t be trying to tough out pain like that. Something seems wrong there. I never had both kinds of catheters in at the same time. I wonder if it has anything to do with that. Either way, I think you should see a doctor very soon.
Good luck!
Ken
Ok so I went to the ER waited 7 hours before I got called in, was at the hospital for 12 hours total, they only replaced the suprapubic catather, performed the flush (irrigation) it was draining ok for a few hours and later that day got clogged again and had to switch to foley for drainage. I don’t know why it keeps clogging, I even tried to perform the irrigation myself last night and it doesn’t seem to help. I have a follow up coming up next week to check the nic all graft and see how it’s doing and hopefully get the foley replaced since it’s tearing and 8 weeks old.
Hopefully I’ll get my second surgery soon as this has been dragging for so long, and hopefully the doctor doesn’t extend it, my legs are doing fine and finally came back to being normal. Doc said 3 to 6 months wait before second buccal graft and then they’ll finally close it up. I just can understand why this is taking so long. I have read several different posts on here and everybody seems to just wait weeks.
But I don’t remember anyone writing about there second buccal graft or even waiting 3 months. Maybe I missed a post, KEN if u can point me towards the right direction if u remember any recharging a 2nd graft being done.
I wish I just had the end to end but stricture was 5 cm probably because they damaged my urethra more when trying to shove 3 different foleys and were unsuccessful.
I’m just so ready to get this over with and also my doc said he’s against me every biking again. And I know I won’t let that happen. Cycling is my passion and I will do whatever it takes to get back into it.
Also seems odd as knowbody posts anymore new content, everything is 2-3 years old were those the days of strictures and not anymore? Or is it just not more ppl know about this site or don’t want to express their issues.
Adam,
My year of living with a catheter was 2013. Then the recovery stretched into 2014. So all my experiences were then, and since this is my site, there wont have been anything new from my own experiential point of view. I did receive some notes from someone else a few weeks ago that I will post as soon as I get back home (been on vacation for a few weeks).
About your questions – I didn’t have a graft, but i did have to wait months – about 6 months total from the time they put in my SPC to when I had my Foley out after surgery. And mine was a simple end-to-end. So I can easily imagine a more complex surgery for a longer stricture would require months worth of cath time. Much is up to the particular doctor doing the surgery. I can’t imagine what is causing the blockage of the SPC except possibly it is falling away form your bladder wall and the inlet hole(s) are getting blocked by pushing into your bladder on the opposite side, etc. One way to possibly prevent that is to make sure the balloon inside (assuming you have a Foley in as your SPC and not a pigtail) is to gently and slowly pull the tube away from you until it stops. This will mean the balloon is where it needs to be – up against your bladder wall. Then secure it with tape or with a catheter securement device like the GripLok. You might also try to get a Duette catheter instead of the Foley. See my post here – https://livingwithacatheter.com/here-is-where-you-can-buy-a-duette-catheter/
Hope that helps!
Ken
Hi Ken-
Thanks for this site. Just curious how you are feeling now several years post surgery?
I’m having a cytoscopy next week. Dribbling, burning, pain in scrotum area, discharge, but flow seems normal. Im assuming these are all sysmptoms of a stricture. Came out of nowhere and had all symptoms for around 2 months.
You’re welcome, Cory. I’m feeling right as rain 3.5 years after surgery. Your symptoms may or may not be a stricture. Luckily you have your scoping next week, so they’ll know at that point, hopefully.
Good luck!
Ken
Ken, i need ur insight on this. I want to go swimming (inside) pool at the gym really bad, my doc says he’s against it, he says he’s not sure if the chlorine can do any damage to the open incision area i have below my scrotom aabout inch or 2, what do u think follow docs orders? or you think it’ll be ok i know while going swimming regardless of incision or not if choline wanted to get it it would go through urethra?
Adam – I agree with the doc. There are any number of things that can go wrong, depending on how many days it’s been since the surgery. Remind me – how long has it been?
Ken
i had the surgery in november 24th 2016 last year so its been well over 2 months and i still have both catheters awaiting my second surgery in a little over a month.
Hi Ken, thank you for sharing all of your experiences! It has been very helpful in getting me through the last few months. So had the surgery, end to end, about a month ago. Did voiding test today and he said it was a success. He took the penis catheter out and left the suprapubic in for precautionary measures. I seem to be having a little burning at the end of peeing, and also possibly a faint pink color after voiding. Do you remember if this was an issue for you?
Hi Andrew,
Congrats on getting through it all! I don’t remember having any problems like that AFTER my catheter was out. But there will be lots of differences due to the fact that you still have the SPC in. I didn’t. It was SPC for months before the surgery, then a urethral catheter after the surgery for 10 days, then when that came out, there was not catheter at all. It doesn’t really sound bad though. Best of luck moving forward.
Wish me luck guys, I’m having the 2nd stage urethralplasty with buccal muccosa, repairing a 10cm stricture (bomb explosion down there, were doc’s exact words) Tomorrow. I’m super nervous as my first surgery took 12 hours and when I woke up in extreme pain in my legs. I’m more worried about my legs this time rather then my urethralplasty as my legs “were dying” last surgery.
Wow! Good luck, Adam! I hope this one works and causes less pain.
Ken
Hey everyone. Could you help me out? I put together a VERY short survey tor subscribers on this site to help me understand how I can help folks with their catheter problems better. It would really be a help to me if you could take just a couple of minutes (seriously 🙂 ) to do this survey. If you can do this, just click here to go to the survey. Thanks so much!!
Ken
I had an anastomotic posterior urethroplasty this past Thursday (4 days ago) and am in quite a bit of pain still. The pain is mostly when I cough or clinch my core muscles and is localized behind my scrotum right about where the two ends of the urethra were stitched back together. I’m getting a decent amount of blood (enough to saturate thru a 4×4 gauze pad) coming through the tip of my meatus around the outside of the catheter. Is this pretty normal or is it quite possible some of the stitching is letting go and I’m bleeding extra?
I go back to my doctors office 3 weeks post surgery to have the catheter in my penis removed and run the die test to make sure all is flowing well. He will then cap off my SPT for 1 week and if everything is still flowing well he will remove that and I’ll be tube free!
I tend to worry about everything and hope this is normal. I will hopefully talk to my doctor or an assistant tomorrow and get some answers. I figured I’d see if anyone else here has experienced this and what their results were when they had their catheter pulled. Mostly I’m worried about the sharp pain where the ends were stitched together and the decent amount of blood around the meatus.
Hi Mark,
I think you should call your doctor’s office ASAP about the bleeding. While it MAY not be a problem, it doesn’t sound normal to me. I didn’t have that. The pain is normal. But I don’t think the bleeding is. I’d be interested to know what your doctor says about this. Can you let us know after you talk to him/her?
Thanks! And good luck!!
Ken
Hi ken i had my surgery yesterday. All seems good so far. Mouth feels strange with the rather large skin graft. Havnt go too much pain at the minute bur its painful to eat..doctors will be removing drain today and will be goung home tonight. I have to have catheter in for 4 weeks then have my flow and leak test. Happy days.
Awesome, Tim! thanks for the update. Glad you don’t have too much pain in the mouth. It seems like most folks who have the buccal graft feel like the mouth pain is the worst of it post-surgery.
Best of luck moving forward with the healing!
Ken
Hey everyone just wanted to add to the post op surgery’s that have been done. I had mine 8 days ago today. Moving around really good. Bowel movements have been normal and don’t even need a pillow to sit comfortably anymore. I have been the lucky one. Catheter finally stopped bothering me about a day ago. I get that out on the 21st. I had Dr Bowaski in Chapel Hill do mine and I highly recommend her. Showering has been weird around that area but so far so good. Have a little burning sensation every now and then from there but no pain pills anymore and moving around is getting easier and easier everyday. Have any questions about it don’t hesitate to ask. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.
Thanks
Bryan
Congrats, Bryan! thanks for the update and special thanks for offering to answer questions and for putting up the name of your doctor!
Best of luck moving forward:).
Ken
No problem. Its nerve-racking before the surgery and would love to be able to give some advice on what to do to help people calm down before operation.
Yes! It can be amazing how helpful it is to know you’re not alone in this.
You still going strong? I read your article about a month before mine and it helped tremendously. I really appreciate it. Helped me get through it
Hi Bryan, can I ask you to maybe look at my post I just made? I see your comments are quite recent and you may be able to ease my anxiety
I just got my urethroplasty done about a week ago, I will go to see my doctor next week. What has me concerned is that I can void through the new hole but if I want to fully empty my bladder I have to use my suprapubic catheter which releases a higher amount. Its been like this for the past couple days and before I left the hospital I showed my doctor and he said there was no issue and I would be fine. But its been a couple days later and I am worried, I just tried voiding and putting a finger over the hole where my suprapubic catheter comes out and clamp off the catheter and the stream seemed stronger but still not able to fully empty. Any advice or suggestions? maybe I will be fine once they take the catheter out and I guess I wont really know until my first VCUG but I am worried. buccal mucosa 2 stage urethroplasty after having a catheter for 12 years
Hi there, I really hope someone can help me because I am going out of my mind worrying about an up and coming bulbar urethroplasty.
My urologist has recommended 2 catheters post surgery for 3 weeks and 2 days in hospital. This comes after a optical urethrotomy and cystosopy which was an attempt to cure a small stricture and ultimately failed.
My symptoms are a lot better than when I had the urethrotomoy, but sometimes passing urine is difficult and quite often there’s a very small amount of blood. I did have a single episode where I drank too much coffee and was in bad pain all day whilst my bladder (pathetically) emptied. I am 28 years old and are a little overweight and smoke 2 cigarettes a day.
I have some questions and really hope someone can help me.
> I am really really worried about success rates. If a urethroplasty fails, what happens then? If it doesn’t succeed over the few years post op, would it be a case of fitting another catheter and doing more surgery? Would the catheter potentially be permanent?
> Would I be able to return to work after the hospital stay? I have an office based business and staff what are relying on me at the moment.
> I am in a mind to postpone this op to see if my symptoms worsen and have it done then, but would this essentially effect my chances of success? Is it likely my symptoms WILL worsen?
I am very worried about having a catheter in because my last 3 days with it after my first op were horrible. I was in dreadful pain, barely slept and had zero support. The 3 weeks now scares me. I have so much admiration for your help and positivity Ken I felt I had to ask you because right now I’m feeling lost, scared and anxious about the up and coming and I think you may be able to put me at ease somewhat. I even feel ridiculous writing this because my time is so short in comparison to yours.
Hope to hear from someone soon.
Hi Mark. My urethroplasty was in the bulbar urethra. Let me take your questions one at a time:
1. I am really really worried about success rates. If a urethroplasty fails, what happens then? First of all, you should realize that fail rates for urethroplasty are rare, especially bulbar ones where they can do an “end-to-end” through your perineum. Success rates are over 90%.
1a. If it doesn’t succeed over the few years post op, would it be a case of fitting another catheter and doing more surgery? Would the catheter potentially be permanent? Again, highly unlikely that you’ll need more surgery (since it isn’t likely to fail). But in the rare cases where it does fail, then you would likely be in for a repeat surgery. But there are no circumstances I can think of where a catheter is permanent. Indwelling catheters are permanent usually for paraplegics or folks with other serious neurological disorders. Even if there is so much damage along the urethra – like all along its length – you still would not need a catheter permanently. You’d be in for a much longer and involved surgery (or series of them) like a 2-phase one. but even that ultimately ends with a reconstructed and usable urethra. Obviously one can never say never. But the odds are just so unimaginable in your case that you really should not worry about THAT.
2. Would I be able to return to work after the hospital stay? I have an office based business and staff what are relying on me at the moment. It’s usually not recommended that you resume getting out and about before you get your catheter (or in your case catheters) out after surgery. But for an office job, it would certainly be possible. You would not be able to sit down normally during the first few weeks though. Until things down there heal up (scrotum and perineum where the incision was made), you’re usually relegated to reclining and using lots of cushions or a donut pillow. So work would be limited to you standing up all the time, or finding a place to rest in that semi-prone position for several days.
3. I am in a mind to postpone this op to see if my symptoms worsen and have it done then, but would this essentially effect my chances of success? Is it likely my symptoms WILL worsen? First, ask yourself if there really IS a “good time” to have this done. There may be. I know several accountants, for example, who would choose any time of year except “busy season” – the couple of months leading up to Apr 15th. You could probably put it off for a couple of months. But unless things will be MUCH easier at that later time, you should probably get it out of the way. Strictures can and do get worse. I found myself unable to pee AT ALL one morning. THAT was the day my suprapubic catheter went in. My surgery wasn’t until 6 months after that :-P. So if you can manage it, I would say that sooner is probably better.
Please do NOT feel bad about asking these questions! What you are feeling is completely understandable and totally normal. Ask anyone else who’s been through this. As for being scared of the catheter and the pain associated with it – well there are things you can do to mitigate that (see: https://livingwithacatheter.com/catheter-pain/ and make sure you clean off the bit that goes in and out of your penis every morning and put some neosporin (the kind with pain relief) along its length there, which will also help). But things will be very different this time from the post-urethrotomy. They will have (assuming an end-to-end urethroplasty) cut out the entire section of the urethra that had the stricture and sutured the two healthy ends together. for me, there was no pain at all along the urethra. The pain was pretty much all in the scrotum plus in and around the approach path (up the perineum). They have to do a lot of cutting in that area. The catheter itself can cause discomfort at the tip of the penis and in the bladder where it pinches periodically. But honestly, those are just minor annoyances. And they are normal. The pain after a urethrotomy is probably mainly coming from a spot in your urethra where they sliced off the scar tissue causing the stricture. So that spot that was sliced off can cause quite a bit of pain. You won’t have that this time.
I hope all that helps! There is definitely light at the end of this tunnel. I’m writing this 4 years after my bulbar urethroplasty and can pee completely normally and there is no hint of recurrence of the stricture. Also there is no pain.
Best of luck!!
Thank you so much. I’m overwhelmed. I wasn’t sure I’d hear from anyone and for such a quick, positive and detailed reply – I’m so grateful. Thank you Ken
I think you are right with the urethrotomy pain. Hopefully the two I have this time won’t be as bad. It felt like I had something pulling constantly on it but hard and aggressively. I’ll try make some work arrangements and get more details about the up and coming op too.
Again I feel so much better. I’m so much more reassured than I ever was with any of my doctors/consultants.
I’m so glad my reply helped! That’s why I do this. The feeling of being alone and not having enough information can be just as bad (or even worse) than the physical pain of the surgery.
One thing that really helps, that I forgot to mention, is to have the right kind of catheter anchoring/securement setup. I found that if it’s too loose, any attached bag will pull on the tube (causing obvious pain) as it fills. So for this you can use something that I found REALLY helpful – the Grip-Lok (see my post here: https://livingwithacatheter.com/grip-lok-adhesive-catheter-holders-now-available-order-individually/). That will take pressure off from a heavy bag. But then you need to make sure you have enough slack so that the sticker, itself doesn’t end up pulling. I got GripLoks from my hospital at first. Then I had to order them myself. But the were real lifesavers 0 in one case, possibly literally :-P. Anyway, I think I have several posts on ways to secure the tube such that it doesn’t pull. And I hope that info adds to your pain-avoidance plan :).
AWESOME! This is incredible. You literally have the best answers I’ve come across. I’m barely even nervous any more 🙂
My docs emailed today saying it’s a graft I need, not end to end. I have 3 weeks with two catheters, one in penis, one in lower abdomen simultaneously. He recommends 4 weeks off work as an average time but think I’ll just have to go in and work standing up like you suggested.
He claims I’ll have pain in wound, penis and mouth which will be moderate and controllable with pain killers. Will ‘rapidly diminish’ over a few days also.
Regardless, I still do feel a whole much better. I don’t know how I can properly thank you, but I wish I could. Maybe I can do a blog post about my experiences or something for your website when I have finished to contribute.
I’m so glad to hear that, Mark! And please, just knowing that my answers and this site in general can be of such help to you is payback enough.
As to the type of surgery you’re going to have – he definitely said it was NOT an end-to-end? Most end-to-ends also involve grafts taken from the inside of the cheek (buccal grafts). But since your doctor mentioned you might have pain in the penis, maybe it will be an onlay graft going through the penis. Ironically, you might recover more quickly from that. I have no experience there, of course. But much of the trauma done in an end-to-end involves the retraction of the scrotum, along with the pulling away of the urethra down through the area above the perineum. If they don’t have to do any of that, your only issue will be directly with the penis. Interesting. I’d definitely be interested in hearing about how things progress for you.
Good luck!
Yeah, definitely not he said. I have another letter from him this morning what says its a buccal muccosa graft urethroplasty, but that’s the only information. He mentions dribbling, ED,recurruance, damage to the paratid duct (what’s that?) and reduced power.
My flow rate was peak at 5.5ml/s with a voided volume of 136mls and a residual of 93mls.
Do you happen to know how that is?
The letter mentions lost x rays which I think is why I have a urethrogram booked shortly. Will let you know what happens with it so hopefully we can help another in search 🙂
Thanks Mark. According to the article here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1472847/ most urologists agree that volumes of 50 mL to 100 mL constitute the lower threshold defining abnormal residual urine volume. So you’re definitely in that range, which is totally expected considering you have a stricture. Also, peak for normal is above 20 mL/s. So again, a value as low as 5.5 is consistent with stricture. Heck, by the time I went in and got my SPC, I would have shown a 0 mL/s peak because NOTHING was coming out at all that day.
And thanks so much for sharing all this! I hope everything goes smoothly.
Hello Ken!
First of all, thank you so much for sharing your experiences. I hope you have healed well by now. I had a few questions, if you don’t mind. I might need to have urethroplasty, as things are looking right now.
I was born with distal hypospadias, paired with stricture. I had a procedure when i was 3, which at the time didn’t seem to have fixed the stricture. But as the years went on, to my own understanding, i’d always be peing and ejaculating normally, so i never even bothered to think about it. Over the years, a fistula formed.
Then, last year, it all started when i started noticing a small leakage of a translucent and at times white fluid at the tip of my urethra. It was a very small amount, which was also followed by an increased sensitivity at the base of my urethra (right between my legs, the perineum). As at the time i was rather active, sexually, I had myself checked, and since all exams were negative, and i wasn’t in any discomfort, the fluid also being very little, I simply let it be.
Fast forward to this November, the liquid never ceased, successfully making this a year long phenomenon. But more importantly, my increased sensitivity evolved into pain during peeing and immediately after sexual activity. I went to a urologyst. I was quite surprised when the first thing he mentioned, after I told him my history, was that the first and foremost thing in my story, was my flawed urethra (i expected to hear something about a fungal infection or something like that).
He told me that, despite me now being 25, and having done the surgery so long ago, it might be that these things resurfaced because my body finally finished developing. He told me the surgery failed, and it needed to be fixed. That every urologyst’s main care is to see their patients bladder void successfully (at the time the ultrasound wasn’t apt, because i had a full bladder).
Nonetheless, he of course sent me to do all the routine exams (urine and sperm culture, urine testing). You can imagine my surprise, when it came out, that i had a staph infection present in my sperm. The doctor then told me it was something minor and harmless. He told me the staph caused me prostatitis, as was his diagnosis. He assured me all was fine and that if i were a middle aged man with no cares for having children, he’d probably just give me one round of antibiotics and finish it there. But since i am young, and having healthy erections and intact fertility is important, he prescribed me the antibiotics which showed to be most effective in my exams, and told me to come for a follow up a week after they’d be done.
At this point it is also worth noting that he did perform another bladder ultrasound now that my bladder was empty, and he saw that i had no urinary retention. He didn’t mention my flawed urethra or the suggestion of surgery anymore.
Now i am almost done with my antibiotics, the fluid has definetely decreased dramaticly (although it is not entirely gone) and i do have many of the prostatitis symptoms still. That doesn’t worry me as much as him saying something like “Alright, now that we are done with the staph infection, it is NOW time to get started.”
Pretty much the worst case scenario for me is he tells me i NEED to have a surgery to either close my fistula, or fix my urethra furtherly. If that happens, and ESPECIALLY if they need my buccal mucosa… that is a big problem, because i am a singer, and it is obvious that having reduced sensitivity and motility to my mouth’s muscles pretty much means an end to this carreer.
I naturally also dread beyond anything else my penis shortening or being painful for the rest of my life everytime it has an erection.
So, here are my questions for you, if you wouldn’t mind answering:
Now, after it’s been so long after both your surgeries,
-How is the mouth doing? Have ALL things returned to normal with it? Your sensitivity, tightness, all good as new? If yes, how long did it take for everything in your cheek to be back to normal?
-Are erections still painful for you? If not, how long until everything was back to normal, with 0 pain, both during and not during sexual activity?
-This is probably a long shot, since your last claim was that even more than a year later you still had it but, were there any improvements with your size, and your ejaculations returning to normal? If yes, how long did it take for that to happen?
Thank you in advance (my god, i practicly wrote a novella here, i am sorry for all this blabbering, you can obviously tell this is a big worry for me!) and again thank you for sharing so much, it really helps with the stress of people who are concerned!
-George.
Hi George – Thanks for sharing your story! Let me take your questions one by one:
-How is the mouth doing? Have ALL things returned to normal with it? Your sensitivity, tightness, all good as new? If yes, how long did it take for everything in your cheek to be back to normal?
— I was lucky enough not to have the buccal graft. My stricture was pretty small – around 1 cm, so my surgeon decided against the need for a graft. However, everything I’ve read about says pretty much the same thing – the mouth pain does seem to be the most irritating thing right after surgery, compared to the other pain. But also, the mouth heals pretty fast. And I’ve never heard of any long-lasting or permanent problems. I’m also a singer 🙂 (that’s what usually shows up the most if you Google my name). I’m also a voiceover actor. And though I would not have wanted to have to perform in the 2 weeks after surgery, I don’t think that there would have been a problem after that. They don’t do anything to the muscles in your mouth, so I don’t think that whould be a concern.
-Are erections still painful for you? If not, how long until everything was back to normal, with 0 pain, both during and not during sexual activity?
— They were never painful for me. It seems like the most common strictures are in the bulbar urethra, so the urethroplasties are done through the perineum. That means the penis is not involved. Some guys do have painful erections still, since the urethra is being pulled. But I it is by no means guaranteed for there to be pain there. The urethra is very stretchy, so that probably helps. If you are having surgery directly on the penis itself, then that is a different matter. But again, I don’t have direct experience there. Hopefully someone who has had that can chime in here.
-This is probably a long shot, since your last claim was that even more than a year later you still had it but, were there any improvements with your size, and your ejaculations returning to normal? If yes, how long did it take for that to happen?
— Yes. I did have many months where it seemed erections were not 100%. Blue pill helped at that time. But beyond a year, I don’t have any problems there at all. Everything seems just as it ever was.
I really hope some of that helped answer your questions. Best of luck with your surgery! Let us know how it goes.
Cheers!
Cant believe I have found this site, very helpful indeed. I live in the UK and had a BMGU due to a stricture that showed on scans as around 2cm.
This issue only presented itself to me in April after eating cheese where I could not urinate. It happened twice in the space of a week, so I went for a referral to a urologist.
I opted for private as I was very concerned as I had never experienced anything like the sensation of not being able to pee before, i can only imagine it being like a woman going into labour and wanting to push with nothing coming out.
After a couple of months of tests, scans, blood tests, internal up thd bum to check prostate, then the consultant being unable to insert a camera into my urethra whilst being under general anesthetic and the a urethrogram identified a stricture of 2cm.
I went to see Ian Eardly consultant specialising in BMGU he offered two options, I went for the big option with higher pass rate.
Operation was performed on the 18th December – woke up and talked to the consultant who said it was actually 6cm and more complicated.
Left hospital on the evening of the 19th with two cathetors – a bit weird to get used to as never had one before so all the symtoms explained by others I am experiencing.
Going back on the 8th January 2018 for follow up checks and expect & hope to get them removed, can’t wait.
My cheek was very painfull for atleast 7 days, now it iz healing and less painfull. My groin area was fine albeit was numb. Stopped taking pain killers and ome section of my perineum wound is hurting the last two days, hope it is not an infection.
Will keep you posted.
By the way Ken, you deserve some recognition from urologists for setting up this blog, very helpful
Thanks so much for your kind words! And I’m glad this site could be of some help to you. 8 cm. Wow! Best of luck on your follow-up in a couple of weeks. And thanks for the information in your comment. Cheers!
Just 24 hours to go before VCUG and hopefully both cathetors are removed.
No pains no, did pick up a urine infection in week 3 but told this is typical so being treated witb anti-biotics. Only recognised the unrine infection by experiencing a temperature on the 1st Jan 2018 and then night fevers on the 3rd and 4th.
Day 2 of anti-biotics and feeling a lot better.
A couple of questions for people who have had BMUG – my mouth wound was left open but stiched around the outside, when the stitches disolved & came lose I have noticed my mouth has gone tight, will it losen up over time?
Do you experience pain when they remove the cathetors, i am not sure what to expect as never had a cathetor before surgery and they inserted them when I was under general anestheric.
Thanks
Now all removed – flow rate improved significanrly – very impressed.
Is it normal to experience some pain when peeing or towards the end of peeing, also noticed some blood dripping at the end of peeing
It is onpy 24 / 48 hours after removal of the 2 cathetors.
Also noticed I am peeing very quickly – used to take about a minute or longer to pee the contents of bladder or I thought was contents, now taking less than 15 seconds is that normal?
It’s certainly normal to finish much more quickly after a blockage has been cleared like after a urethroplasty. Higher volume at faster rate. As for the pain, I didn’t experience that, nor did I have the bleeding. I’d err on the side of caution for those 2 things and ask your urologist ASAP if that is still happening tomorrow. Best of luck healing up!
I had a Buccal Mucosa Graft Urethroplasty surgery on Dec, 11th 2017. to fix my bulbar stricture (2 to 3 cm). My doctor said he had more success with Buccal grafts than the end-to-end anastotomic procedures. Anyway, I had my follow up Dr. visit on Jan, 5th 2018. During the follow up appt they performed another retrograde urethrogram while I had a catheter in. They inserted a very small pediatric catheter alongside of the regular foley catheter I had in and injected dye up into my urethra and bladder to get an image to see if everything healed properly. I’m very happy to say that everything healed nicely with no leaks according to my surgeon who performed the surgery. Also, my inner cheek where they harvested the tissue is healing very quickly. I got the catheter removed after having it in for 25 days. My pain is moderate, still a little discomfort when sitting, but I’m back at work (office job). No heavy lifting for 6 weeks. My flow/stream is strong, and very little pain if any at all. There was a little blood the first day or so when urinating but it cleared up quickly. The doctor said that is normal. I’m 51 years old and very very glad I had this surgery done. I hope that it fixes my problem for the long term if not permanently. I’ve battled this stricture since my late teens or early twenties. I highly recommend finding an experienced Urological surgeon who specializes in Urethroplasty. One who performs them on a regular basis.
Thank you, Ken for creating this site. It helped a lot to read other peoples stories about their experiences.
That’s awesome, Bill! Thanks so much for your comment. I’m glad this site could be of some help to you. And I’m glad everything seems to be going well. Having got to where you are, the odds of this being a permanent fix are well above 90%. Best of luck moving forward! Thanks for your kind words.
Hello Ken and fellow sufferers 😊 well it’s been 6 weeks since my urethroplasty and all in all things are going well, I sit on a soft pillow when at home but also able to sit on a train for two hours without any aids. Still have discomfort in the wound area between scrotum and back passage but bearable.
Only downside is I’m still suffering from urine dribbling a few minutes after leaving the toilet, not much but still annoying, does any one else have this trouble and does it clear up after some time. I’m in the construction business but fortunately able to carry out the paperwork side of the business as there is no way I could do any serious physical works.
This site has been a great help of reassurance when I have needed it, thanks Ken I hope your all doing well Sean
Hello Ken and fellow sufferers 😊 well it’s been 6 weeks since my urethroplasty and all in all things are going well, I sit on a soft pillow when at home but also able to sit on a train for two hours without any aids. Still have discomfort in the wound area between scrotum and back passage but bearable.
Only downside is I’m still suffering from urine dribbling a few minutes after leaving the toilet, not much but still annoying, does any one else have this trouble and does it clear up after some time. I’m in the construction business but fortunately able to carry out the paperwork side of the business as there is no way I could do any serious physical works.
This site has been a great help of reassurance when I have needed it, thanks Ken I hope your all doing well Sean
Thanks for the comment, Sean. Glad things are going mostly well. If you’re anything like me, your pain will eventually go away, though it does take awhile. But it often takes a lot longer than most people think it will. For a lot of guys, the pain in the scrotum can last 10-11 months. But knowing that can really be helpful. About the dribbling problem, I can’t say for sure. I did not have that issue at that point. After a few years, it does sometimes happen to me. But it’s not a real problem. It could be an issue of your bladder not back to its full function and/or the muscles around the bladder neck still regaining strength. So it may well be something that improves. But as you know, I’m not a medical professional. Hopefully things will get better. If they don’t within a few months, I think it would be a good idea for you to check with your doctor.
Thanks for the reply Ken, how long ago was your procedure? as an up to date description how are you feeling now? All the best Sean
I’m still doing well. No sign of recurrence of the stricture. No pain anywhere related to it at all. Back to normal in every way.
Hi,
I’m concerned that the catheter will cause another urethral stricture somewhere. I’ve had a buccal mucosal graft bulbar urethroplasty too, and I’m catheterised at the moment. I’ll have the catheter removed in 11 days, today is day 3 after the surgery. My main worry is that after the catheter is removed, it’ll be revealed that another stricture has formed. Is it common for the catheter to cause a urethral stricture? It’s a tube that sometimes moves inside the entire length of the urethra, sounds/feels risky and I’m worried that this’ll cause me another stricture.
Thank you for your effort with this site,
hoping to have a successful recovery like yours.
Hi. Sounds like you got the surgery, which you’ll (eventually at least) be happy about. And I have worried about this myself. I always tell the doctors before a surgery (I’ve had 3 or 4 since my urethra issues) that I’ve HAD a urethroplasty for stricture, just so they know and can choose to NOT stick one in if I don’t absolutely need one.
Urethroplasty is 90%+ effective as a long-term fix for stricture. That means that a recurrence or failure of ANY kind, for any reason in less than 10%. And of the many things within that 10% that COULD cause recurrence, the catheter itself is not likely. So the odds that just the catheter moving around and up and down inside your urethra would actually cause another stricture are extremely low – so much so that I’ve never heard of it happening. Keep in mind I’m not a medical professional. So my experience is from my own life, the people who’ve reported here over the years, and the research available on the internet.
So I think you should be fine as far as that goes. Hope that helps. Get well soon!
Thank you very much for the response. 10 days for catheter removal. Yesterday I unfortunately had a problem where bloody urine was forced out of the side of my urethra and not the tube (caused by a blockage which has now been resolved), do you think that could affect the graft’s integration or contribute to another stricture? Sometimes, but not too often, I feel an urge to pee as if the catheter isn’t in, and I bit of bloody urine comes from outside the tube as it exits my urethra, would you think this is just an inconvenience or something that could affect my recovery and increase chances of a stricture recurring?
I will be seeing my surgeon this Friday for a check up, 3 days left. Many thanks for your thoughts.
Sorry I’m late on this. It’s not normal – what you describe. You should definitely speak to your doctor about that one.
I’ll be seeing nurses tomorrow, and a doc next Friday. It sounds normal from what others have said. When I say side, I mean next to where the catheter enters. It’s like peeing without a catheter, but the tube’s still there. This now only happens when I sit to poo, otherwise urine drains in the bag normally. Others have commented about blood around the urethra, I don’t have that, just healthier urine now.
No worries for the late response, will ask about this tomorrow and get back to you. Just want to confirm if you know whether this can affect the graft, thank you.
Hi,
Doc says everything should be good, and there’s nothing to worry about. Catheter removed next Friday (6 days) :). I am tolerating my daily routine more now, and hope these days will pass. Doc seems confident there shouldn’t be any issues. I actually apparently won’t have an x-ray test. They’ll remove it and wait for me to pee, then I let them know about any symptoms. That sound ok?
Excellent! That’s good to hear. About the post cath removal test – it doesn’t sound like what most folks have. The usually put contrast fluid and watch the imaging as the you void – to make sure things are nice an sealed inside the urethra. I suppose that procedure is more expensive though. So though you won’t know immediately that the repair is perfect, if you don’t have any symptoms after, that would work too.
I recommend asking what kinds of symptoms you would see if the repair wasn’t 100%. For example, would you see blood in the urine? Would you have pain? Something else?
Best of luck though! It’ll sure feel great when it is out :-).
Hi,
Unfortunately had the catheter get blocked by clots again, got it flushed and things seem ok now. Do you know what would happen if the urethra isn’t “sealed”? I’ll certainly ask them about why we don’t use the contrast fluid.
Another question, can erections with the catheter increase the chance of a recurrent stricture?
4 days left 🙂 Thank you.
4 days will go by fast! I don’t know what the symptoms would be if the seal isn’t 100%. I’d just be guessing. About erections when you have the catheter in, I don’t think there is any evidence that it can increase the chance of recurrence of the stricture. The smooth surface of the catheter slides along the inside of the urethra and the stitched-up repair site. Surgeons know that males have multiple erections during the night – it’s pretty much unavoidable. So that is taken into account. Hope everything goes well in 4 days!
Thank you for the response, another 2 days for catheter removal. I’ll certainly ask about the graft being sealed, should all be fine hopefully.
It’s been 12 days and my scrotum is still red, swollen, and sensitive to pain. Any idea when this will subside?
There is good news and bad news there :-). The good news is that the pain in the scrotum is totally normal and is mainly (after the first few weeks anyway) nerves healing up. Usually nothing actually “wrong” beyond that. A lot of guys, including yours truly, had irritating pain there for up to 11 months. Actually knowing this helped me deal with it a lot better. It varies though, from person to person. You may be lucky and have the pain reduce in a matter of weeks. But it could take a long time, which is not outside the realm of “normal.”
Best of luck!
Hi,
Glad to see the catheter was removed yesterday, and I believe the surgery has worked. Scrotum shoulr heal up fine hopefully, though at day 15 sitting is still not an option. Things are improving down there though, I’ll give an estimate of 1 or 2 weeks before I can sit normally. Can walk alround freely bow the tube’s out.
Just wanna ask, I get a weird feeling at the end of my pee though, really hard to explain. As if the urethra is pulled near the bladder, it’s not painful but certainly takes away my breath a little, feels slightly uncomfortable. Any thoughts on this?
Also, if me penis is lifted upwards when erect, I feel a sharp-ish pain and strain on the inside, is this temporary due to the graft?
Thank you.
So that weird feeling at the end has almost completely subsided, most likely a temporary side effect of catheter removal.
Erections are uncomfortable when the penis is lifted up at all, any idea about this?
Thank you.
You still have uncomfortable erections WITHOUT a catheter? If so, I can’t say what that might be. This is a case for asking your doctor I think. Glad to hear the other weird feeling has subsided though.
Just a short update now I’m 8 weeks post urethroplasty operation where I had an 8cm graft repair, other than a tender scrotum I’ve had a problem with post void dribbling! I saw my surgeons side kick today and he explained it’s due to the muscles which have been disturbed by the graft area, the urine puddles in this point and needs what he called milking out, I found putting pressure under the perenium area it pushes out this pool of urine and stops the dribbling, hopefully as he suggests it’s not a forever problem. Other than that all is well thankfully, regards Sean. Ps well done for keeping up the interaction Ken 👍
Hi Sean. 8cm? Wow! That’s massive. the tender scrotum CAN last a long time for some people. For me, it was 11 months. I don’t have much to offer in terms of experience on the dribbling/puddling problem. But keeping your doctor in the loop is smart. I’m not a medical pro as I’m sure you know. So as long as feel like thinks are moving in the right direction, and ask an actual doctor when things seem weird, you should be fine. And don’t hesitate to get a 2nd opinion, or 3rd or 4th. Not a lot of urologists are super knowledgeable about strictures. So keep that in mind. Best of luck!
Thanks Ken, I posted my latest news to encourage others who like we were, may be worrying about their future procedures, I believe it to be a worth while operation, being in the construction game I’m now slowly gaining confidence in lifting things that would of made me cringe a month ago, hope all goes well for others in our shoes, all the best Sean.
That’s awesome. Thanks!
Hi Ken,
I posted here before, and just have a (hopefully theoretical) question now.
In one week it will have been exactly 2 months since my buccal mucosal graft urethroplasty, and so far all seems well. Erections, which I previously enquired about, have improved drastically.
Last week though, I masturbated as I have been doing frequently, and when I ejaculated I noticed something different. I didn’t feel anything unusual, but when I look I saw one drop with a little mixed blood, and more interestingly a small little “string” tied as a knot, very small. It was in the semen.
Since then I haven’t noticed any blood at all, and probably never will again, it was such a small amount and only happened that one time. I guess the little knot was from the graft’s stitching, is this anything to worry about? Everything seems normal still. Is there any chance the graft can detach, or is it fused strongly and impossible to remove without surgery?
Thank you.
Hmm. First I should say that since I didn’t have a graft, I don’t have first-hand knowledge about it. And since you SEEM to have seen a piece of a stitch (these are supposed to be self-dissolving), what you surmise makes sense. And also, since you haven’t had any trouble since then, my opinion (coming from a non-medical pro!) is to agree that it’s likely fine now. 2 months after a surgery, healing is usually pretty darned complete. I had surgery on my foot last year – they put a plate and screws onto one of the bones there. The incision went through the top of my foot. They removed those stitches 2 weeks after the surgery and that skin was well and truly healed together after 16 days. So it would seem to me that the soft tissue would all be healed by now. But if you have ANY other issues like this, I’d recommend asking your urologist. In fact, it might not be a bad idea to do that anyway, just to be on the safe side. Hope that helps.
Hello Ken,
This is Ishtiaq from Pakistan. I had a bulburous stricture in my urethra and had a optical urethrotomy in October, 2017. Now, in May 2018 Doctor advised me to have a urethrotomy too or a urethroplasty. Will you please tell me that what is the effect on size of pennis after urethroplasty and how is the erection of pennis?
Thanks.
Hi Ishtiaq. Urethrotomies have a poor success rate long-term. The only known long-term fix with high success rates is urethroplasty. There is no single answer for whether or not a penis will have a smaller erection size after. I didn’t have any change. It depends a great deal on how large the stricture is and whether the surgery involves a graft (usually from the inside of your cheek). With a small stricture, and especially if the surgery uses a graft, there should be no shortening. But remember, I’m not a doctor or nurse. I’m just a guy who had a urethroplasty and has months of experience with a catheter, etc. I hope that helps you!
Hi,
Firstly, just wanted to say that this forum has been amazing. I’m 21 years old, from the UK, but play football over in America. 2 years ago I was diagnosed with a stricture after not being able to fully empty my bladder, and frequently waking up throughout the night, which also lead to rhabdomyolosis from not being able to rid my body of toxins etc. Which could’ve lead to kidney damage.
So my Urethrotomy was unsuccessful in March 2017, which lead to planning a Bulbar Urethroplasty, in which they took a 2cm graft from my cheek (seeked out the best doctor in the UK to do the surgery), which I had done on the 7th July (15 days ago). Got the catheter out 2 days ago and feel amazing, flow is great, emptying my bladder fine, but just have a problem with Post-void Dribbling. I understand that this is because they cut through certain muscles that help with contraction, and that the graft doesn’t have the same abilities as the original urethra, but do you know if this will subside? Would Pelvic Floor exercises help? Also what could I do other than massaging the urine out, and sticking tissue in my boxers afterwards?
Thanks for the help!
George
Hi George. Congrats on getting the surgery done and hopefully having a permanent fix! I didn’t have a graft, so I won’t be able to answer first-hand here. Right after the surgery, I didn’t have post-void dribbling. But I do have it sometimes now. It seems to depend on things like whether I’ve been sitting or lying down for a long time right before peeing. And it seems to be worse after just waking up – something, I think, to do with nocturnal erections. I usually just stay a little longer at the toilet to get rid of the excess. But I don’t “massage” or do anything to make it happen. I do sort of squeeze my kegel muscle to sort of “squirt” (really not the right word I don’t think :-P) any residual pee out a few times. But I don’t think grabbing your penis makes sense (if that what you meant by “massaging” it out. What seems to be happening is that not everything is coming out of your bladder in the main “go.” So after it seems like you’re done, along comes a bit more. But remember that your bladder is always pushing. Don’t know if you had a chance to notice when you had your catheter. I sure did – having had a cath for 6 months :-P. But while changing bags, I often held the unattached cath tube for a few seconds, and saw the “pulsing” of the bladder’s action. It’s like a pump – here comes a little push of urine, then another push 2 seconds later, then another, then another. It doesn’t come out in a stream when the bladder is mostly empty like it is when you have a cath in there. This is what is happening when you have the dribbling – it comes out in a long stream because your bladder is full. But when the balloon of your bladder has pretty much emptied and gone back to a more relaxed (not bulging with urine) state, it starts its constant pulsing again if you are not stopping it by the normal controlling of the bladder – the NOT peeing in your pants – that we developed as toddlers. But in that short period of time while you are still relaxing things to let pee come out on purpose, the pulsing of the bladder will continue and if there is anything in there, it will push it out, even if it’s only a tiny bit. So I don’t think that the “extra” is trapped in your uerthra. It’s in your bladder. So “massaging” is not going to do anything to help and may hurt (I’m only imagining here) the penis.
Anyway, this might actually have more to do with the fact that you had a catheter in at all, than that it was specifically for urethroplasty. My mom had a surgery a few years ago and they put a catheter in during those few hours. She reported having bladder control problems for months afterward! She’s obviously older than both of us (was in her 60s at the time) were when we had our urethroplasy surgeries. So it might be faster for you. But it did go back to normal after awhile.
I don’t know for sure if pelvic floor exercises would help. They might. But I think at lest part of this is going to be just a matter of time before you regain full bladder control.
For sure you should ask your doctor about this if you can. As you know, I’m not a medical professional. So to get the professional advice, you should definitely ask the pros :-).
Best of luck in your post-catheter world :-)!
George I’m not trying to hijack your post and I know Ken has been a great help to me personally and many others, we would of been lost without you Ken.
I to had a graft of 8cm long taken from my cheek and placed on my Urethra, as you say George the muscle gets cut and the graft cannot do the extraction of that last teaspoon of Urine trapped in that area between the bladder and the scrotum area.
My surgeon advised me to contract the same muscles you would use to stop passing stools for 10 seconds at a time over various periods when I’m sitting watching tv etc, I personally use the back of my hand to put pressure on the area behind my scrotum to help eject the last of the urine out, even after this I still have a small amount of post void dribbling which again my surgeon feels will get better, I’m 8 months post operation and overjoyed I’m able to pass urine normally. Who was your surgeon George? I’m also in the UK Kent area, all the best Sean.
Hello i had a uroplasty done about 6 months ago my flow rate is still good and i did have askin graph done on my mouth and it is still healing i can eat on both sides but still tender where it was done. I am still having pain done there a little in the testicle area i have been informed to wear a jock strap or better under wear but i am having pain still in the urethra area and after six months i have tried intercourse and was not really all that successful i had a hard time getting an erection and when i did wasn’t what it was before basically about half of what it was and had pain as well i go for a scop soon in a month but i am lost i don’t kniw what to do anymore i have been informed several times it will get better but how long does this go for? Could it be perminant?
Believe it or not, 6 months is not all that long in “urethroplasty recovery time.” It is frustrating and scary. But the kind of stuff they had to do to your body causes some guys to take up to a year to recover! That was actually great news when I heard it. It gave me hope. And it turned out to be true. The scrotal pain was gone after about 11 months and the erections came back to normal (like you, they were just sort of “almost but not quite there”) as well. My doctors kept telling me what so many do – that things SHOULD be back to normal now. I don’t think they have good data in the urology community about how long it takes for someone to recover from this surgery. But take heart – a LOT of folks were in the exact same boat – and found that things do continue to improve for a year or more, and that by the 11 or 12-month point, things are back to normal for most. Hang in there!
Hi Ken, I know this post is too old now, but if u see my comment please do reply me. I need to ask that after urethroplasty they said not to put pressure in perineum area, I don’t know how to sit in the toilet seat. Please guide me.
Thanks
Farry
Hi Ken I have anterior stricture 1cm under the base of penis near my penis gland don’t really know what to do mate feels like I’m trapped in my own thoughts all this is really hard to comprehend for me any advice would be appreciated.
Hi Abdi. The absolute best way forward is to see a urologist. And the only known lasting fix currently is urethroplasty surgery. there are other, more temporary treatments that likely would have to be repeated, possibly several times. So if it is at all possible, I would look into urethroplasty. Hope that helps some! BTW, just so it is clear – I am not a medical professional. I’m just a guy who went through stricture and urethroplasty myself.
I have done uritroplasty. It is the 2nd week. I am feeling very good. Kindly tell me when my Foley catheter will be removed so that I feel easy. Thanks
Javid – congrats on having the surgery done. As for your question – there is no way I can tell you. Your surgeon/doctor must be the one to remove it for you. And they will also tell you WHEN to have it done.
Good luck!
Ken
Thanks. The sergion advised me that the catheter will be removed after 3 weeks. Many drops of urine also dropped from urithral opening along with the Catheter pype. Should I worried about that?
Glad you have a date now. Urine should not normally drip from around/outside the tube. It might mean you have a blockage. I cannot say whether you should be worried. You should definitely ask your doctor this. Only they know your situation in person. Not being a medical pro, and not having your info, I cannot advise you more than this.
Good luck.
Ken
Thanks
Hello,
This blog really helped me as well I just wanted to give a highlight of what I went through.
When I was 5 years old i had a bicycle accident that caused me to have blood in my urine (hematuria) . My parents took me to 3 different urologists , one urologist increased the opening of the tip of my penis . Second one did multiple ultrasounds and scans, ultimately i found a 3rd urologist and he said as a last resort they could do a Johansan.
which is a 2 step surgery that involves basically flaying open your penis and cleaning out the scar tissue and let it heal in open air: they made a hole near my scrotum for peeing through. The second which was about 2 months later involved rolling the open urethra and making a canal for the pee. I had a foley Catheter in to keep the shape in place for about about 4 weeks. After this i was able to urinate again.
However over time time this surgery was not successful, I had a urinary blockage again when I was 19 and another urologist dilated my urethra . This helped urine flow but for the remainder of my life I had slow stream and it would take average 2 minutes for me to empty my bladder along with the pain. Furthermore if I had to pee within 30 minutes of my first time, there was a tingling sensation which would force me to hold back peeing as much as possible
Finally, about 2 months prior the inevitable happened, I could not pee, I immediately found another urologist at Yale New Haven and he did a retrograde urethrogram. He immediately said I had 2 major strictures and that he recommend I go to New York Persbitayan urology and have them look into it .
I went to NYP and my urologist Dr. Brandes was very experinced and forthcoming. He immediately did a cystoscopy and a urethrflow and determined I had 2 strictures for a combined total of 12 cm . I would need a double buccal graft and possibly even some material from my rectum to do the surgery. It would be a urethrhroplasty where they would make an incision like a circumcision and another incision near the perineum .
Day of surgery, I reported at 530 am. 730 am my surgery started. The surgery ended up lasting 6-7 hrs and my stricture was actually a little over 15 centimeters. I was kept overnight and given antibiotics , Valium for nocturnal erections, oxy to manage pain for a few days and a stool softener.
I was told after 2 days to shower and I was able to. My mouth is still swollen but I feel much better. I have a SPC which empties into a bag and a foley caterer down my urethra . I will see Dr. Brandes in 3 weeks in which he is hopeful to remove my catheter and hopefully this will be it.
I plan to go back to the officework on Monday ( 5 days after surgery) as my urologist stated it should not be a problem .
Adjusting to this sucks but I have a supportive family and friends and I will get through this. Hopefully I do not have any symptoms that others have but I have to stress one thing.
If you’re going to get some invasive surgery done , find the best doctor and also…. I was on Medicaid when I was younger so I was limited. Now I have a much better insurance so I was able to find one of the best it goes to say…. you get what you pay for
Thanks for sharing your story. Wow! that’s quite a journey. Fingers crossed for you upcoming catheter removal and healing after!