A couple of years ago, Peter aged 65 was diagnosed with an enlarged prostate after a slightly high PSA blood test. Luckily, no cancer was found and Peter was discharged. Over the years, Peter noticed he was visiting the toilet more frequently and urgently, especially throughout the night and experienced a discomfort in his bladder area when sitting and driving.
In May 2023, whilst away on holiday with his family, Peter went into urinary retention and subsequently had to have a catheter fitted. This was a distressing time as they spent most of their time at a hospital not knowing what was going to happen or how they were going to manage the situation.
Upon their return home, Peter and his wife researched possible treatments on the internet, which gave them a basic understanding of what was available, which was when he discovered Aquablation Therapy. The treatment was described as a new, non-invasive procedure to treat an enlarged prostate, which was safer to undertake than the traditional treatments, therefore Peter was interested to find out more about it.
As part of the extensive research Peter carried out, Professor Vasdev’s name came to the forefront, a Consultant Urological Surgeon based at Pinehill Hospital, Hertfordshire. Peter was impressed by his expertise especially with regard to his robotics development. When considering treatment, it was so important to Peter that he found the right consultant and hospital that would treat him.
Peter said “Our daughter and several friends have had operations at Pinehill Hospital, and all were extremely pleased with the treatment they received. When we discovered that Professor Vasdev, the consultant we were interested in had a practice there as well, it was an obvious choice.”
Peter booked for an initial consultation with Professor Vasdev who sorted out the removal of the catheter and explained all the options available to him. He felt that Aquablation was the best option for him as it was a minimally invasive and more precise treatment, with a low rate of complication, so proceeded with this surgery. Peter felt lucky as the first patient to undertake this treatment at Pinehill Hospital. Peter said “Professor Nikhil Vasdev, has been brilliant throughout the whole experience and I cannot praise him highly enough. When I first saw him, I was unsure what to do and deeply distressed, but he was able to calm us, reassure us and put a plan in place to resolve the issue. I felt confident and really positive that the issues would be resolved and successful.”
The whole process was seamless from initial consultation to surgery, Peter cannot praise Pinehill Hospital more highly, during the difficult time he not only received all the support he needed but he felt safe and reassured. “All the staff were exceptional, from the doctors and nurses, right down to the support staff. All the staff were friendly, positive and made the whole experience manageable, alleviating the anxiety I had, as I had never been an inpatient in a hospital before.”
Peter can now enjoy his life again without having to worry or suffer in pain, he now has a better quality of sleep at night due to the reduced number of times he needs to go to the toilet and no longer feels anxious about a urinary retention recurring, all thanks to Professor Nikhil Vasdev and the team at Pinehill Hospital.
Peter finishes with “I would definitely recommend this treatment, for anyone in a similar position to me. The whole process from start to finish was a positive experience due to the care and support offered by Professor Vasdev, the hospital and its wonderful staff. After the operation, I felt no pain at any time, only a slight discomfort initially. I have had no adverse symptoms or side effects from the procedure and my recovery has been straight forward. I am now back to my normal self.”
