Before the Procedure:

You will have many visits with your doctor and tests before your surgery:

• Complete physical exam
• Visits with your doctor to make sure medical problems, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart or lung problems, are being treated well

If you are a smoker, you should stop several weeks before the surgery. Your doctor or nurse can help.

Always tell your doctor or nurse what drugs, vitamins, and other supplements you are taking, even ones you bought without a prescription.

During the weeks before your surgery:

• You may be asked to stop taking aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn), vitamin E, clopidogrel (Plavix), warfarin (Coumadin), and other drugs like these.
• Ask your doctor which drugs you should still take on the day of your surgery.

On the day of your surgery:

• Do not eat or drink anything after midnight the night before your surgery.
• Take the drugs your doctor told you to take with a small sip of water.
• Your doctor or nurse will tell you when to arrive at the hospital.

After the Procedure:

You will stay in the hospital for 1 to 3 days.

After surgery, you will have a Foley catheter in your bladder to remove urine. The urine will look bloody at first. It will clear with time. A bladder irrigation solution may be attached to the catheter to continuously flush the catheter. This helps keep it from getting clogged with blood. The bleeding will gradually decrease, and the catheter will be removed within 1 to 3 days.

You will be able to resume a normal diet right away.

You will need to stay in bed until the next morning. Afterwards, you will be asked to move around as much as possible.

• Your nurse will help you change positions in bed, show you exercises to keep blood flowing, and recommend coughing/deep breathing techniques. You should do these every 3 to 4 hours.
• You may need to wear special compression stockings and use a breathing device to keep your lungs clear.

You may be given medication to relieve bladder spasms.