Transurethral Resection of a Bladder Tumour — Transurethral Resection of a Bladder Tumour-Bladder Cancer Awareness Month
The TURBT. The transurethral resection of a bladder tumour. This was the procedure that I underwent at Sunnybrook Health Sciences with Dr. Kodama. I arrived prior to 6am in the morning to check-in, after having completed pre-surgical screening a few weeks prior. I was prepped and then held in a queue to be taken to the surgical floor. A resident intern greeted me and provided me with reassurance and some pre-op conversation. I then proceeded to the surgical suite where I was comfortable but under general anesthetic for the procedure.
When I awoke in the recovery room I still had a catheter attached and the Dr. reassured me that the procedure had gone well with no complications. The critical factor was to see how the bladder was clearing into a container at the end of the bed. I was overnight with a return visit from the resident intern ensuring that I had rested comfortably. A neighbour, a retired nurse, was working the recovery ward. By mid-morning I was peeing quite clear and all systems were go. I was released by noon that day heading home to rest comfortably.
No complications
I was fortunate that I did not have any complications. I have heard from others who may have experienced some clotting or had catheters in longer or returned home with catheters. My catheter was removed before I left the hospital and I returned home in comfort. I continued to drink lots of water to ensure the bladder was functioning well. I was to return to the doctor within a few weeks to assess the pathology report and determine what steps would be next in my bladder cancer journey — more to follow.
Great resources to Review
Bladder Cancer Canada offers complete and informative patient guidebooks. All the details about non-muscle invasive bladder cancer and the approaches to dealing with it are included in this resource.
Urology North from North Bay has some good information about TURBT on their website.
The Cleveland Clinic has a very straight forward summary of the TURBT.
An animated YouTube video from PreOp.com is a good overview of the procedure of TURBT.
Some surgeons may use a blue light for the TURBT procedure — more information here related to the us of blue light.
Wishing you well on your journey. After your TURBT the doctor will want to see you for a post surgical discussion to assess what they found with respect to the stage and grade of your bladder cancer and what your courses of action will be for follow-up. More to follow.
