Jun 05 2024 40 mins
One of the fastest growing demographic cohorts in America is men over the age of 60. Growing with this group, in a majority of instances, is their prostate. That gland gets much attention primarily as men age and doctors track their PSA number for the potential of being cancerous.. Less discussed, but quite impactful, is another number–the size of the prostate, which tends to enlarge over the years for many men. The greatest impact of that growth is the effect it has on the urinary tract, which results in constant trips to the bathroom, particularly at night, and the inability to fully empty the bladder. As host of this podcast, I shared my own difficult experience in this realm at the top of the podcast with Dr. Daniel Kellner, of Yale Urology and Yale School of Medicine. I’m trying to get the word out that this condition is something to be mindful of. In my case, the seriousness of this was brought to light following routine hernia surgery when I was unable to urinate for days following the procedure and ended up in an emergency situation with acute kidney injury. The month long journey resulted in having Dr. Kellner perform a laser surgery, called HoLEP, to hollow out the prostate, not remove it, giving me renewed urinary function going forward. We discuss issues related to this topic, in full, on today’s podcast.