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Retzius sparing, Single port RARP surgery this morning.

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User
Posted 07 Jan 2026 at 15:18

Hey all,

Had Retzius sparing, single port RARP surgery with NeuroSAFE at London Bridge by the prof whocannotbenamed this morning.

Have created this post to document my progress/struggles for anyone considering the same and no doubt will have plenty more questions for all the incredibly helpful people on here as I go through recovery.

Arrived here at 7am.
Quick round of all the necessary checks and info and I was in for the epidural by 8.30am.
Thought that would be bad but really wasn't too bad at all. Similar to Thermal guided steroid injections I have had in my shoulder in the past.
Straight after that I was knocked out and into theatre, was awake in the recovery room by 11.30. Feeling pretty good,  just very drowsy.
Back to the room by 1pm and feeling much more 'with it'. Although very itchy all over which I'm told is a side effect from morphine.

Prof just come to see me.
Said surgery was completely straight forward, no complications at all. Took 89mins if anyone's counting.
Intra operative frozen section analysis indicated clear surgical margins and all nerve bundles surrounding the prostate were left intact, which hopefully  should give me good chances of positive outcomes with my plumbing returning back to normal long term.

Said surgery is so much easier on someone who is young and slim (I'll take that).

Catheter draining well so far and not much blood in urine.

Will remain laying in bed until the morning to allow the epidural to wear off. They want me up on my feet and moving about tomorrow.
Pain manageable thus far. Stomach hurts if I shift about in bed but bearable. Taking the paracetamol provided. 

Facilties and staff here at Guys is first class.
Not lost on me at all, how fortunate I am to have private healthcare in place.

Now onto recovery.
Certainly not getting ahead of myself, but so far so good.

That post surgery tea and ice cream hits different.

Thanks again to all the wonderful people on this forum for such helpful information and support. It makes this whole stressful process a lot more bearable. 

User
Posted 07 Jan 2026 at 15:18

Hey all,

Had Retzius sparing, single port RARP surgery with NeuroSAFE at London Bridge by the prof whocannotbenamed this morning.

Have created this post to document my progress/struggles for anyone considering the same and no doubt will have plenty more questions for all the incredibly helpful people on here as I go through recovery.

Arrived here at 7am.
Quick round of all the necessary checks and info and I was in for the epidural by 8.30am.
Thought that would be bad but really wasn't too bad at all. Similar to Thermal guided steroid injections I have had in my shoulder in the past.
Straight after that I was knocked out and into theatre, was awake in the recovery room by 11.30. Feeling pretty good,  just very drowsy.
Back to the room by 1pm and feeling much more 'with it'. Although very itchy all over which I'm told is a side effect from morphine.

Prof just come to see me.
Said surgery was completely straight forward, no complications at all. Took 89mins if anyone's counting.
Intra operative frozen section analysis indicated clear surgical margins and all nerve bundles surrounding the prostate were left intact, which hopefully  should give me good chances of positive outcomes with my plumbing returning back to normal long term.

Said surgery is so much easier on someone who is young and slim (I'll take that).

Catheter draining well so far and not much blood in urine.

Will remain laying in bed until the morning to allow the epidural to wear off. They want me up on my feet and moving about tomorrow.
Pain manageable thus far. Stomach hurts if I shift about in bed but bearable. Taking the paracetamol provided. 

Facilties and staff here at Guys is first class.
Not lost on me at all, how fortunate I am to have private healthcare in place.

Now onto recovery.
Certainly not getting ahead of myself, but so far so good.

That post surgery tea and ice cream hits different.

Thanks again to all the wonderful people on this forum for such helpful information and support. It makes this whole stressful process a lot more bearable. 

User
Posted 07 Jan 2026 at 15:31

Hello again, mate.

Thanks for the update. Your story will be very helpful to others. I hope that you have a smooth and speedy recovery. Good luck.👍

User
Posted 07 Jan 2026 at 22:07
So good to read this. My husband’s surgery wasn’t quite as straightforward as yours, but I can say that he did recover steadily over time.
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User
Posted 07 Jan 2026 at 15:31

Hello again, mate.

Thanks for the update. Your story will be very helpful to others. I hope that you have a smooth and speedy recovery. Good luck.👍

User
Posted 07 Jan 2026 at 22:07
So good to read this. My husband’s surgery wasn’t quite as straightforward as yours, but I can say that he did recover steadily over time.
User
Posted 08 Jan 2026 at 15:53

Great progress! Pass on my regards to the prof :-)

I bet it was busy this morning with the hive of activity to get you moving. The laps around the floor help loads…remember to give the nurses some banter :-) The shoulder ache was painful from the gas used to inflate the abdominal cavity was painful but we laughed it off and it resolved by day 3. The food is epic….ask for the recommendations on dishes as they were almost Michelin star. start to think about eating fibre dried fruit and soups etc to get your guts active again cause after a general anaesthetic you can suffer with constipation for a few days but nothing to panic about. they should give you some lactulose solution to take home. I had some I personally bought and got told off by the nurse for self prescribing day two… and I painted the toilet shortly after taking that’s but ensure you take plenty of water with it cause it can dehydrate. just take it easy and don’t lift anything and get your steps in as recommended.

the peppermint tea helps loads to settle the stomach and guts. 

enjoy the TV and don’t expect much sleep. the Prof will be in probably before 7 am 

Liv was fantastic when Annie was doing the spinal. they have an excellent good cop bad cop double act. I decided cracking a joke while the needle was impaling. Me probably wasn’t the best time to do it 🤪

enjoy your recovery and shout if you have any questions 🍻

simon

Edited by member 08 Jan 2026 at 16:40  | Reason: Not specified

User
Posted 08 Jan 2026 at 18:01

Funny enough the prof asked how I come accross him and I mentioned he had been recommended by multiple people, especially on this forum.

You have pretty much described my 2 days to a tee.
Prof was back to see me around 7.30  this morning, whilst I was eating breakfast (was very happy I had been upgraded from 'softs' to 'light menu')  and told me I would be more active today.
Removed from the IV drip and leg compression machines.
Leg catheter fitted and physio had me doing laps of the ward and even up and down a few flights of stairs. Fascinating how quickly that leg bag fills.

I would say the trapped gas/shoulder pain is worse than the wound pain at the moment.
Will get on the peppermint tea this evening, extra strong mints are not quite cutting it.


I have been given laxative drinks from the nurses but no movement yet. I have lactulose and all the right foods ready at home so hopefully will get things moving when I get home tomorrow.

Thanks again for all your help and support.

User
Posted 08 Jan 2026 at 18:49

The lactulose made me explode so use it sparingly and maybe not just before you get discharged…..or you may discharge en route home :-)

Another patient from here had his surgery same time as me. We both called the shoulder pain ‘the bends’ as pure agony but laughed it off given all the other stuff that had gone on. Just keep taking the pain meds they dish out preventively as kinda keeps things managed. 

I guess you have the clip system for a catheter pipe on your thigh? If so get them to stick another one on the other thigh so you can move the pipe and bag between legs say every 24hrs….the tip of your penis will thank you for it as makes the irritation totally bearable I found.

the bag filling is insane….makes you really appreciate the bladders function that’s for sure. Don’t be spooked if the urine is pink of red with but in it. The inside of the bladder is spongy and the retaining balloon for the catheter irritates it and makes is bleed slightly….all normal stuff.

User
Posted 09 Jan 2026 at 17:45

I have a velcro strap on my thigh to guide the catheter tubing and then a bandage type pocket tubing just below my knee to hold the leg bag. Leg bag connects to the night bag. I have extra thigh straps and tubing so will definitely alternate between legs each day. 

Question - should I be cleaning/rinsing either of the bags? particularly with with the night bag??

I was advised to change both bags after 7 days. But no mention of cleaning. 

Had a pretty rough sleep at Guys last night, felt so bloated and full of gas, couldn't get comfortable. 

Managed to open my bowl this morning though which relieved a lot. 

Slept for 3 hours when I got home. Night bag pretty full when I woke up which is slightly concerning for night use. I will ease off the fluids in the evenings. 

 

 

Edited by member 09 Jan 2026 at 17:46  | Reason: Not specified

User
Posted 09 Jan 2026 at 18:05

Ah cool. I had statlok attacked to my thigh and spare i put on the opposite leg. So i could alternate the bag between legs to relieve the pipe rubbing where it enters the penis. 

the Velcro strap should provide a similar function. I found alternating every 24 hours did quite well.

cleaning isn’t that involved. You may have some sanitising wipes supplied and basically when you switch back to the Day bag in the morning just wipe the ends of the connectors and that was it. did you get a bag with a printout from the professor as it should be all in there with what to do. I reread that about 20 times and learned something new each time. 

basically when attaching new bags between night/day cycle just wipe the connectors with the sanitising wipes.

bags are thrown away after 7 days and replaced.

the night bag does fill up and I was probably 90% capacity on waking up. if you’ve got a stand for it put the whole lot in a bucket just to keep it upright if it gets slightly pulled in your sleep.

after a week you’ll be the MacGyver of catheter bag managementlike the rest of us 🤪

Edited by member 09 Jan 2026 at 18:09  | Reason: Not specified

User
Posted 09 Jan 2026 at 18:41

I got a huge info pack on discharge and looks like it covers everything for the next few weeks. 

Like you say I will wipe connectors with alcohol wipes each time I connect/disconnect. 

My 4 year old has just delivered me some Terry's chocolate orange. I'm always happy to give alternative medicine a go 😂

 

 

User
Posted 09 Jan 2026 at 23:48

Pnut, I think different hospitals may have different protocols. At my hospital after surgery the leg bag stays attached to the catheter for 7 days, at night the night bag is attached to the leg bag at night and in the morning it is removed,drained at thrown away. If for any reason the leg bag is removed from the catheter it should be thrown away and a new one fitted.

Thanks Chris 

 
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