RSS feedGreenLight laser surgery: a patient's perspective
– Russell Cornish
- Introduction
- Noel Minett
artificial urinary sphincter patient - Colin Webber
bladder cancer patient - David Lehane
prostate cancer patient - Michelle Lewis
incontinence patient - Sally Richards
bladder reconstruction patient - Russell Cornish
GreenLight laser treatment patient - Ian Doherty
robotic prostatectomy patient - Charlie Blackwell
robotic prostatectomy patient - William Lane
robotic prostatectomy patient - Neville Parnell
artificial urinary sphincter patient - Simon Dolan
robotic prostatectomy patient - Steve
robotic prostatectomy patient
Russell Cornish is a 62-year-old property developer from Devon. Mr Cornish describes his experience of the very common condition, benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), often known as an enlarged prostate. Mr Cornish had GreenLight laser surgery in November 2009.
“I first noticed a problem about 10 years ago. I started getting up at night to go to the toilet and my flow was becoming weaker. I went to see my GP and was prescribed tablets, but when I read about the side-effects of the tablets, I decided that I didn’t want to go down that route.
“It is amazing how, as your flow decreases, you accept it as normal. Eventually, I was getting up at night three or four times and was in quite a lot of pain. I went back to the doctor’s and had a biopsy at my local hospital in Cornwall to check for prostate cancer. Fortunately, I was given the all-clear for cancer, but my prostate was enlarged.
“I felt very nervous about having an anaesthetic. I needn’t have worried. I had my operation in the early evening, going under while the anaesthetist was talking to me, then came round feeling perfectly comfortable two hours later.”
“I started to do my own research about treatment. I read about the TURP procedure but was very concerned about the side-effects. I’m 62 and I have a good sex life. The GreenLight laser treatment seemed a much better option because it doesn’t have the same complications and long recovery time.
“There wasn’t anywhere offering GreenLight laser in Cornwall, but there are many surgeons in London who do and I chose Mr Doherty at the Hospital of St John and St Elizabeth.
“I hadn’t been in hospital since the age of five when I had my tonsils out and felt very nervous about having an anaesthetic. I needn’t have worried. I had my operation in the early evening, going under while the anaesthetist was talking to me, then came round feeling perfectly comfortable two hours later.
“You need to drink plenty of fluid after your operation and the next morning, the nurse checked my flow and said I was able to go home. I took the train back to Cornwall and although I needed to go to the toilet a lot, having drunk a lot of water, I felt great. I had been given a supply of painkillers when I left hospital and I didn’t take a single one.
“I’m self-employed and was in the middle of renovating a property. The day after I got home, I plastered a room. There was a little blood in my urine for the first three weeks, but no pain or discomfort at all.
“I’m very glad that I waited until GreenLight laser became available, rather than having a TURP a few years earlier. I can’t fault a thing about the GreenLight laser – it has been a 100 per cent success with no downsides whatsoever.”
“I now have a brilliant flow – you forget what it is like to have a normal flow and be able to go to the toilet, properly empty your bladder then forget about going to the toilet again for some time. I never have to get up to go to the toilet in the night now.
“I heard a discussion on the radio about BPH and the consultant being interviewed said after GreenLight laser, you should be able to pee like a 20-year-old and clear a five bar gate. I tried it and I can! My sex life is fine – there are no side-effects and everything is working well.
“I’m very glad that I waited until GreenLight laser became available, rather than having a TURP a few years earlier. I can’t fault a thing about the GreenLight laser – it has been a 100 per cent success with no downsides whatsoever.”
Find out more
▸ Read more about GreenLight laser treatment for the enlarged prostate
▸ Find out more about the causes and symptoms of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH)
