Roger's story - Surgery for an enlarged prostate

Roger Hornett, 70, knew he had an enlarged prostate and had been monitoring his prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels since his mid-40s when he was a stockbroker in the city. While there should also be a small amount of PSA in your blood and you would expect the level to rise as you get older, Roger’s levels had always been up and down. He also took a PCA3 test every year during his annual health check-up, to help monitor for any signs of cancer. 

One Saturday he’d returned from a charity event where he was acting as MC and he realised he hadn’t passed water for 12 hours. He went to hospital where they immediately fitted a catheter. He was sent home and his private doctor removed the catheter however a week later he went into retention again and found himself in A&E for a second time. 

At this point Roger decided to book an appointment at The Prostate Centre – a state-of-the-art clinic dedicated to prostate problems. 

He saw Consultant Urologist Mr Christian Brown, who made arrangements for Roger to have a new catheter fitted and go for a CT scan. The scan revealed that Roger’s prostate was 10 times the usual size.

Roger met with Consultant Urological Surgeon Mr Ben Challocombe who recommended surgery. Roger recalls:

“The doctors were amazed I hadn’t been suffering with any of the usual symptoms – I hadn’t needed to urinate more regularly or during the night for example. Up until going in to retention I felt completely normal.”

Surgeon Ben Challacombe suggested Holmium Laser Enucleation of the Prostate (HoLEP) at The Princess Grace Hospital. HoLEP is a modern alternative to the standard Transurethral Resection of the Prostate (TURP) procedure and can be performed on men of any age. Excess tissue is removed under a general anaesthetic with the help of a telescopic camera inserted through the penis.

“The surgery took just three and a half hours and by the following morning I was amazed at how well I felt. I was back home within two days and now I can pee for England! 

I did have a feeling of dragging and because the muscles in my bladder had been working so hard for so long but the team at The Princess Grace have been excellent in advising me of pelvic exercises to help get back to normal.

I have nothing but praise for everyone at The Princess Grace. The nurses, receptionists, everyone was just so easy to get on with and they always explained what they were going to do and why. My specialist nurse Matta Kaikai called me a few weeks ago – she’s going to come and see me for dinner at the restaurant I own."

Roger continues to monitor his prostate with PSA tests and he has been back for two post-surgery check-ups as part of his after-care programme.

“I feel I’ve been extremely fortunate. Within a month of going in to retention I had my surgery and life could get back to normal. I’ve been married 48 years and have two daughters, five grandchildren and consequently a people carrier – we spend a lot of time with the grandchildren. We just took the whole family to Guernsey – a trip which has become something of a family tradition every year.”