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By Mayo Clinic staffFollow your doctor's instructions on what to do before your treatment.
- Stop or reduce blood-thinning medications if your doctor says to. Examples include warfarin (Coumadin) and some over-the-counter pain relievers such as aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, others) or naproxen. Acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) is generally OK.
- Don't eat or drink anything after midnight the night before your treatment.
- Take only the medications your doctor tells you to, with a small sip of water, on the morning of your procedure.
Your doctor may give you a kit and instructions for giving yourself an enema to clear your bowels the morning of surgery, or other steps to follow.
- AUA guideline on the management of benign prostatic hyperplasia: Diagnosis and treatment recommendations. Baltimore, Md.: American Urological Association. http://www.auanet.org/content/guidelines-and-quality-care/clinical-guidelines/main-reports/-management/chapt_1_appendix.pdf. Accessed March 12, 2009.
- Han M. Retropubic and suprapubic open prostatectomy. In: Wein AJ, et al. Campbell-Walsh Urology. 9th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/128042617-3/0/1445/92.html?tocnode=54305512&fromURL=92.html. Accessed March 25, 2009.
- Seur E, et al. Open prostatectomy is still a valid option for large prostates: A high-volume, single-center experience. Urology. 2008;72:90.
- Cunningham GR, et al. Surgical and other invasive therapies of benign prostatic hyperplasia. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 12, 2009.