Reader has questions about prostate procedure

April 28, 2011 By

DEAR DR. GOTT: My father is 93 years old. Owing to an enlarged prostate, he is not able to completely empty his bladder. He is feeling no pain and minimal discomfort from this condition. In fact, he feels it is more of a nuisance having to urinate frequently.

His urologist recommends GreenLight laser surgery to relieve the problem. He has been told that this condition, if left untreated, could lead to kidney problems and/or a blood infection. He is fearful that the surgery could lead to incontinence. This thought distresses him greatly. What is your opinion of this option for treating his problem? Are there other options he could consider?
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Weight loss may help hypertension

January 27, 2010 By

DEAR DR. GOTT: I am a 57-year-old male with hypertension, for which I take Levatol. Nine years ago, when I weighed 338 pounds, I was treated for the hypertension for the first time. I managed to lose 138 pounds by mid-2002, and the problem went away. Since then, I have gained back half the lost weight and am once again hypertensive. Will losing that weight again result in the loss of the hypertension?
A second concern I have is with the prostate. As you are aware, we are bombarded with advertisements hawking drugs to resolve BPH. In the ads, symptoms are listed. Based upon the symptoms, when should I seek a doctor’s advice? [Read more...]

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Daily Column

November 23, 2008 By

DEAR DR. GOTT:
My husband is 73-years-old and had a biopsy of his prostate because his lab value was 6.2. We were told he had cancer, but were told not to worry. A few days later he came down with a severe urinary infection that put him in the hospital for four days. A few months later his PSA was 1.2 and now it is 1.7. The doctor wanted to do surgery but we said no. Now he wants to do another biopsy. I don’t want to put my husband through this again. Options are seeds, radiation and more that did not interest us at all. We chose to wait.

DEAR READER:
Normal prostatic specific antigen (PSA) readings are from 0-4. Your husband’s reading was high. Having said that, prostate cancer affects about one in six men in the United States and the incidence increases with age. [Read more...]

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