SpaceOAR / Prostate Fiducial Marker Postoperative Instructions

Diet

You may resume your normal diet. Be sure to drink plenty of water to flush the urinary tract. Be sure to eat plenty fiber (vegetables, fruit) to avoid constipation or straining for a bowel movement.

Activity

Avoid any strenuous activity for the next three to five days. This includes activities such as jogging, bicycle riding, cutting the grass and raking leaves. Avoid intercourse for the next week.

Blood in the perineum

You may have some spotting from the needle punctures. If this bleeding is persistent, please call the office. If you have redness and warmth or purulent discharge from these puncture areas, you should also call the office as you may have an infection.

Blood in the ejaculate

It is very normal to see blood in your ejaculate after the placement of the fiducial markers.

Medications

You may be prescribed a pain medication after your procedure. If you have having minor pain, you may take over-the-counter acetaminophen (Tylenol) as needed for pain. If you are taking an antibiotic that was started before your procedure, continue to take this antibiotic until it is complete.

Rectal symptoms

You may have some rectal urgency after your procedure.

If you are unable to urinate

Come to the office if office hours for placement of a catheter. If outside office hours, please go to an urgent care or the emergency department. A catheter is a plastic tube that drains to a bag. It may take several days or a week for your bladder to function normally after anesthesia and hydrogel placement.

If you develop shaking chill, fever or heavy bleeding in the urine or stool

Go the emergency department for evaluation, fluids and likely hospital admission.

Follow up

You should contact your radiation oncologist for your radiation treatment. The hydrogel will be reabsorbed by your body over the next 6 months.