Unique procedure provides relief to octogenarian with prostate

Stating that he had approached the hospital with a history of inability to pass urine and had a catheter placement elsewhere, Dr R Shanmuga Sundaram, head, Urology Department at MIOT Hospitals, where he underwent the surgery, said, “He came with a catheter in-situ and had elevated serum PSA (Prostatic specific antigen) levels.”

“On examination, a hard prostate was found, and a biopsy of the prostate was considered. On doing a biopsy of the prostate, it confirmed a cancer of the prostate (Adenocarcinoma),” he added.

While further evaluation revealed that the cancer had not spread anywhere outside the prostate and it was confined only to the prostate, the treatment options were radical prostatectomy and radiotherapy.

“The same was discussed with the patient and relatives. While the family members initially expressed hesitation in terms of performing a major surgery for such a senior man as a treatment of his ailment, after discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of the treatment modalities with them, his family members felt confident about the treatment option,” added the doctor.

Following a fitness evaluation, he underwent Retropubic Radical Prostatectomy on May 2. “The three-hour surgery was done in MIOT hospitals by a team of Urologists and the blood loss was very minimal in spite of technical difficulty caused because of his previous bilateral hernia repair. The earlier repair has caused extensive adhesions between the urinary bladder and abdominal wall. He withstood the procedure well,” the doctor added.

Admiring the improvement seen in his father, S Lakshman said, “It is because of the good anaesthesia team and intensivists that he was able to make a remarkable recovery. The post-operative period was uneventful. He was discharged from the hospital on the fourth day after surgery and is recovering well. The biopsy report had revealed that the tumour in the prostate was completely excised and no sign of residual disease was left over, which is a sign of complete recovery.”

Stating that many tend to fear such surgeries on Octogenarians, the doctor said, “The radical surgery of such magnitude can be easily done in octogenarians and elderly people as well. With advances in invasive monitoring and care of dedicated team of surgeons, anaesthesiologists and intensivists, major surgical procedures can be done easily nowadays. The fear and enigma of avoiding surgical procedures needs to be stopped.

With proper pre-operative evaluation and staging of the disease, ideal treatment method can be suggested. Age is just a number and even major procedures can be done in elderly.”