The bleeding will gradually decrease, and the catheter will be removed within 1-3 days. You will remain in the hospital for 1 to 5 days. Although the transurethral approach is more commonly used, other surgical approaches to removal of the prostate gland, such as the transvesical, retropubic and suprapubic approach is used. The primary advantage of the transurethral approach is that it does not create an external incision. This is a much more involved procedure and usually requires a longer hospitalization and recovery period.
Suprapubic prostatectomy is performed using general or spinal anesthesia.
You will return from surgery with a foley catheter in place and occasionally a suprapubic catheter inserted in the abdominal wall to help drain the bladder. A bladder irrigation solution may be attached to the catheter to continuously flush the catheter thus keeping it from becoming clogged with blood. A drainage tube may also be placed in the abdominal cavity to drain excess blood and fluids from the area. Your urine may initially appear very bloody, but this should resolve in a few days. The foley catheter and suprapubic catheters will remain in place for 5 days to a few weeks until the bladder has sufficiently healed.