How painful is the PAE procedure?

It is minimally invasive and performed under local anesthesia without pain or other side effects, with short hospitalization, immediate improvement, and short recovery.
Some pain might be experienced after the procedure which responds well to moderate strength oral painkillers.

How long will it take?

The procedure takes between 2 – 3 hours.
Most patients leave the hospital 4 – 6 hours after the procedure. Patients with hypertension (high blood pressure), may spend the night in the hospital and be released the next morning. All patients can return to their normal life the next morning, but can’t drive for 1 day. After discharge from the hospital, the patient can contact the team with any questions.

Risk and Complications

The most frequent complication is:
1) Urinary tract infections (treated with antibiotics) and blood in urine (self-limited) occur in about 8 – 10%
2) Blood in semen (self-limited) is about 5%
3) Blood is stool in 3% (self-limited)
4) Burning in anus and urethra for some hours (self-limited)
5) Urinary retention during the procedure (1%) treated with a bladder catheter for a couple of hours.

Will PAE affect Fertility (ability to have children)?

No. PAE does not affect fertility or the ability to have children. The sexual performance improves in about one-third of treated patients.

Costing

Currently, the funding for PAE by medical aids is under review.
For private patients, the and fees are as follows:
• Hospital, consumable and Dr’s fee – Please contact us for a quotation
• CT scan – R10 000
• Urology fee – charged at rate determined by the urologist who you see