Prostate surgery at Spire Leeds Hospital

Spire Leeds Hospital is a long-established private hospital and provides an extensive range of surgical and medical services for our patients in Leeds, Harrogate and York.

We have a team of expert urologists who specialise in men’s health and have wide experience of performing prostate surgery. Working alongside an excellent aftercare team, they’ll provide you with a treatment and recovery plan that’s tailored to your needs.

We offer fast access to consultations and treatments, in a clean, comfortable environment. The typical waiting time from diagnosis by your consultant (or a referral) to receiving prostate surgery is one to two weeks.

Your consultant will assess the condition of your prostate, your general health and your intended outcome in order to recommend the most appropriate treatment for you.

Our consultants offer a variety of treatments for benign prostate enlargement.

The type of anaesthetic you need varies depending on the procedure you need. It may be:

• A general anaesthetic meaning you’re asleep – this is most often used
• A spinal or epidural – where you can’t feel anything from the waist down
• A local anaesthetic – you’ll be awake but you won’t be able to feel anything in the area being operated on

Transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP)

• A special instrument is passed through your urethra and a small, electrically-heated wire is used to trim small pieces of prostate tissue
• Performed under general anaesthetic
• You’ll need a urinary catheter for around one to three days after the operation

UroLift (prostatic urethral lift (PUL) implants)

• Instead of removing prostate tissue, implants are positioned to hold your prostate out of the way and increase the width of your urethra
• This procedure can be performed under general or local anaesthetic
• Usually, a urinary catheter isn’t required

Water ablation

• Water or steam under pressure is used to destroy prostate tissue
• Performed using general or spinal anaesthetic
• You’ll need a urinary catheter, usually until you leave the day after.

Your consultant will explain the potential benefits and complications of each procedure before you decide to go ahead.

Coming into hospital

Spire Leeds Hospital is situated just off Leeds' main A6120 ring road, approximately three miles from Leeds city centre. The hospital is accessible via public transport (bus) or we're 15 minutes by car from the city centre and the mainline railway station. There’s free parking available for you and your visitors.

Meeting your consultant

You’ll meet your consultant in one of our consultation rooms. You’ll discuss:

• Your symptoms and medical history
• If your consultant requires any additional tests or scans to help plan your treatment
• Alternative treatments or lifestyle changes which may help
• What the treatment involves and procedure options
• Potential benefits and risks of prostate surgery

You may also need a pre-operative assessment with a specialist nurse before going ahead with treatment. This is to ensure you're fit and well enough for surgery.

The operating time for prostate surgery takes from 45 to 90 minutes. If you’ve come with a friend or family member, they’re welcome to wait in your room while you have your operation.

After surgery, you may need a urinary catheter until the swelling in your urethra has gone down, allowing you to pass urine normally again. This will be taken out by one of our nurses before you leave hospital – which is usually for one to two nights after your operation. During your stay, you’ll have your own en-suite room which will have:

• Armchair
• TV
• Wardrobe
• WiFi
• Window

As expected after surgery, you’ll feel some pain afterwards. Our nurses will help you manage this by giving you painkillers and advice regarding what over-the-counter medicines you can take after you leave hospital.

Although the recovery time varies depending on the procedure you've had and your overall health, here’s a guide to recovery timeline for transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) – the most common procedure: