These are among the most common, and potentially most serious, complications of radical prostatectomy. Blood clots that form in the legs’ deep veins (this is called deep venous thrombosis) can be, at best, painful. At worst they can be fatal. The leg veins are, as one doctor describes it, “a straight shot to the lungs”; [...]

Like all surgery involving anesthesia, radical prostatectomy carries the risk of death, but this is extremely rare. In one hospital’s study of 1,000 patients, there were two deaths—one man died three weeks after surgery, from a blood clot in his lung (for important tips on how to recognize symptoms of this, see below). The other [...]

After incontinence, impotence ranks right up there on the “most feared complications” list. But let’s make sure we’re all talking about the same thing: First of all, what is potency? The medical definition is simple—”an erection sufficient for vaginal penetration and orgasm.” Having said that, it’s worth repeating that men who are impotent after radical [...]

In extremely rare cases, when incontinence does not get better over time, your doctor may do cystometry to determine the state of the bladder. If you have urgency incontinence, anticholinergic drugs can dampen the involuntary bladder contractions. If you have stress incontinence, drugs that cause smooth muscle contractions, including decongestants or antidepressants (imiprimine, for instance, [...]

Doctors practising today have been trained in the subject of allergy on the basis of what is scientifically proven – that a range of specific symptoms results from an over-reaction of the immune system, and that objective evidence can be provided by skin and blood tests proving the involvement of the immune system. When doctors [...]