Don’t Stress About Prostatectomies Until Reading This

Are You At Risk?

At some point in his lifetime, approximately one out of nine men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, a disease that typically develops in older men, with about six out of ten cases of prostate cancer occurring in men aged 65 or older.

A radical prostatectomy is a surgical treatment option for localized prostate cancer. The surgery involves removing the entire prostate gland and seminal vesicles, as well as the surrounding tissue, often including lymph nodes. Surgery may not be used as the only prostate cancer treatment option, however, as a broader treatment plan may include radiation, chemotherapy and hormone therapy as well.

Undergoing surgery of any type can be intimidating. Undergoing a prostatectomy can seem even more daunting when one hears of stories of those who have life-long changes to their urinary and erectile function afterward. Luckily, as medicine and technology have teamed up and advanced, the chances of life-changing post-surgical outcomes have diminished greatly.

Physical therapy prior to and after a prostatectomy is a key component in readying the tissues and muscles to continue playing their role after surgery. The da Vinci robotic prostatectomy approach has decreased healing time, complications and has allowed for more precise and accurate tissue removal with minimal invasion.

Along comes Amniofix

Enter Amniofix. Amniofix is just one more advantage to preserve urinary continence and erectile function after a da Vinci robotic prostatectomy.

Amniofix is a bioactive tissue matrix allograft composed of dehydrated human amnion/chorion membrane (dHACM). It contains specialty proteins, growth factors and cytokines that help reduce scar tissue formation, modulate inflammation and enhance wound healing in addition to acting as a barrier membrane.

During a robotic prostatectomy, Amniofix acts as a barrier and helps reduce inflammation. Basically, it is a nerve sparer. It’s wrapped around the neurovascular bundle of the nerves that control urinary continence and erectile function to help preserve the tissues and nerves as the prostate is being removed.

Not only does it help preserve the tissues and nerves, but due to its anti-inflammatory properties, it helps reduce the inflammatory response caused by surgery, therefore allowing for minimal disruption of the neurovascular bundle during the already minimally-invasive da Vinci surgery. This combination effectively reduces the potential for long-term post-surgical incontinence and erectile dysfunction.

Research has shown that patients who underwent a da Vinci robotic radical prostatectomy with Amniofix versus those that did not have a quicker recovery to full urinary continence and erectile function postoperatively.

Using da Vinci robotics, physical therapy, and Amniofix, the golden trifecta of cancer control, preservation of urinary continence, and erectile function is here.

All aboard to the Austin Urology Institute

If you feel you’re suffering through prostate cancer symptoms and feel it’s time to decide how to diagnose prostate cancer, Dr. Shaw and his friendly, professional staff at the Austin Urology Institute are here with answers, and potentially, a path to prostate cancer prevention. And believe it or not, prostate cancer symptoms can be as simple as back pain, so it’s certainly better to play it safe should you feel you’ve come face-to-face with common prostate cancer risk factors.

Should preventing be in the past and prostate cancer treatment proves to be the next option, you’re in elite hands as well, with Dr. Shaw’s expertise stretching into every variety of prostate surgery, such as Benign prostatic hyperplasia — often known simply as prostate enlargement.

Revered as one of the premier cancer centers in Central Texas, the Austin Urology Institute has utilized decades of expertise, state-of-the-art medical equipment such as the da Vinci surgical system, and of course, personal care that is second to none to establish a reputation as the leading prostate cancer surgery center in Texas.

With that in mind, if you fear you’re faced with the symptoms of prostate cancer, why wait another second? Call 512-694-8888 to schedule a consultation and begin on the path to prostate cancer treatment.