My PVP adventure began in July, 2002, when I first read of the
procedure on this newsgroup, thanks to Patrick¹s postings. It was he
who, at my request, led me to make an appointment in August with Dr.
Alexis Te, Weill-Cornell Medical Center, in New York City. The usual
tests were made in September, with a follow-up session in November. The
biopsy revealed that my prostate was 250 cc, ³the king of prostates,²
as Dr. Te remarked. He put me on Avodart and Flomax in order to reduce
its size so that the procedure could be accomplished in only one
session. I next saw Dr. Te in June (2003) for another ³measurement,²
which showed that the gland had indeed shrunk about twenty-five
percent. So Dr. Te told me to make an appointment for the operation.

Meanwhile, back home (near Utica, NY), my hematologist was concerned
with blood tests that revealed I had a coagulation deficiency. Further
test results in late summer and fall were somewhat ambiguous and
inconclusive--that is, one test would show a deficiency and the next
would not, and so on--; when deficient, the clotting time corrected
itself in a test tube with the addition of plasma; the addition of
plasma in vivo also corrected the clotting time. So the hematologist
contacted Dr. Te by telephone. After discussing the matter at length,
they agreed that I could undergo the PVP. Then I made an appointment
for the operation: December 2, five days short of my 69th birthday.

My wife and I took the train from Utica on Monday, Dec. 1, to report
for the pre-operation session at 8:30 a.m. on Dec. 2. (If you travel to
NYC for medical work at Weill-Cornell/New York Presbyterian Hospital,
very nice rooms with kitchenettes are available at reasonable rates at
Helmsley Medical Tower, adjacent to the hospital.) Dr. Te visited with
me and my wife during the pre-op, and I was taken to the operating room
just before 11:00 o¹clock. The anesthesiologist was a very friendly man
of my age, who said, ³You¹re going to like this. Dr. Te did it for me
three weeks ago. Take a deep breath.² And I was out.

It was 4:00 p.m. when I came to in the recovery room, shivering. Once I
was comfortable, Dr. Te appeared, all smiles. He was very pleased with
the results and said it took five hours--because of the
still-very-large prostate. It seems that he is now specializing in the
oversize candidates. Each of his assistants--I don¹t know how many
there are, but it seemed to be quite a crew--stopped by in turn, never
failing to say, ³You had a REALLY LARGE prostate!² Very nice young med
students and residents--I believe they all worship the water that Dr.
Te walks on!

Because of that REALLY LARGE prostate, Dr. Te kept me in the hospital,
catheterized, overnight. The next morning the catheter was removed at
11:00 a.m., and I urinated freely. And freely. And freely. I was
released later that afternoon.

My great fear was that I would still be urinating freely on the train
trip home on Thursday. We got seats near the toilet, but I needed it
only three times in the five-hour trip.

Now as to pain, stinging, bleeding: There wasn¹t any. The blood in the
urine was light at its worst--about the shade of white zinfandel. No
clots. Four days afterward the only blood that shows is at the
beginning of urination, and that but little. I am drinking a good deal
of water all day and pass about a gallon during the night--that ought
to be a good flushing of the system. Other than that, I have no
sensation at all of having been operated upon.

On the whole, I am somewhat overawed by the quality of Dr. Te¹s care
and the light touch in his technique. I just can¹t praise him too
highly and look forward to seeing him in a week or so for my review.

Ironically, the PVP was being offered in Syracuse, an hour¹s drive from
my home, beginning at the same time I was receiving it in New York
City. Amtrak¹s service is spotty at best, and depending on the taxi
drivers in the city is always chancy--especially if time is short--but
I will undergo all that for treatment by Dr. Te.

Surely a new gold standard has arrived!