What to expect after PAE
If you need prostate artery embolization, it’s natural to be curious about what to expect after PAE. Our Austin PAE specialists want you to be well-informed about prostate artery embolization recovery, so that you can heal well and get back to your regular activities quickly.
After your prostate artery embolization procedure, you will be taken back to your recovery room while the anesthesia wears off. If you received moderate sedation, sometimes called twilight, you may not be totally asleep. If you received deep sedation, you will wake up about 20 to 30 minutes into your recovery, but the medication will quickly wear off.
There will be a small white bandage over your right groin, where our small catheters were placed in your femoral artery. This should be kept dry for 24 hours. After that, it can be exposed to moisture in the shower.
The skin entry site is so small that no stitches are required. The small hole in the artery is closed with an internal device that does not require removal.
Patients commonly ask about what to expect after PAE in terms of physical activity. Your only restriction is to avoid heavy lifting for two days. This can be estimated as a bag of heavy groceries in each hand.
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Prostate artery embolization recovery at home
If you’re wondering what to expect after PAE once you’ve left our offices, you’ll be glad to know that recovery at home rarely comes with complications.
Typically, the only thing patients feel immediately after their PAE may be mild soreness in their groin where we entered their artery. Some patients will feel like their urinary symptoms will mildly worsen over the next few days. This could include increased frequency of urination, more nighttime urination, weaker stream, burning during urination, or blood-tinged urine or sperm. This has been given the name post-PAE syndrome.
Some patients describe these symptoms as similar to a urinary tract infection, or UTI. Our Austin PAE specialists will prescribe a few medications to take over the first week after the PAE to curb any of these transient side effects. They rarely last longer than a week. After four to seven days, patients will usually return back to normal.
What to expect after PAE – two weeks later, and beyond
After around 10 to 14 days of prostate artery embolization recovery, patients should begin to notice a daily improvement of their urinary symptoms. Typically, improvement of the urine stream strength and hesitation will be apparent. Over the next few weeks, symptoms should continue to improve, with frequency and urgency being some of the symptoms that can continue to improve gradually in the coming months.
After the meaningful size reduction of the prostate has occurred, the bladder begins to adjust to the improved flow. This varies from patient to patient, but it will typically regain some compliance, depending on how much of the bladder changes are reversible.
Our Austin PAE specialists will follow up with you at one and three months to track your progress and address any additional needs we identify. If at any point you have any questions about what to expect after PAE, please contact us to speak to our nursing team.
