On the day

No eating or drinking

You must not eat for 6 hours before surgery. This means that you cannot suck on sweets or chew gum.

You can drink non-fizzy water up to 2 hours before surgery.

If you continue to eat or drink, it might not be safe for you to have surgery. Your appointment will be cancelled.

During the procedure

You’ll have a general anaesthetic for an open retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (RPLND).

If you’re having the standard operation, your surgeon will make a long cut in your tummy (abdomen) so they can access the lymph nodes. This cut starts just under your chest and goes down to the bottom of your belly button.

If you’re having keyhole surgery, we’ll make several small cuts instead.

After we remove the lymph nodes, we close the wound with staples.

We send a tissue sample from your lymph nodes to a pathologist for testing.

The operation usually takes 2 to 4 hours.

After the procedure

We’ll move you from the operating theatre to a recovery room. We’ll monitor you closely until you’re awake enough to return to the ward.

If you need closer monitoring, we’ll take you to Guy’s Critical Care Unit.

When you wake up, you might notice that we’ve given you some medicines and equipment to help you recover.

IV drip

We give you fluids intravenously (into the vein) through an IV drip in your arm or neck. This helps to keep you hydrated as you will not be able to eat or drink immediately after the operation. We can also give you medicines through the drip.

Pain relief

It’s normal to feel pain after you’ve had an RPLND. We have different options for pain relief after your operation.

Oxygen

We might give you oxygen to help with your breathing. This can be through an oxygen mask or through a small tube that goes into your nose.

Catheter

It can be difficult to get up and go to the toilet when you’re recovering from surgery. A catheter is a flexible tube that carries urine out of your bladder into a bag so you do not need to walk to the toilet.

The catheter goes into your urethra (the tube that connects your bladder to the outside) through the tip of your penis. We insert it while you’re under anaesthetic so you will not feel any pain.

Wound dressing

We cover your surgical wound with a dressing to help it heal. Your nurse will reapply the dressing after 24 to 48 hours. We’ll remove your staples 14 days after your surgery.

Compression stockings

We’ll ask you to wear compression stockings. This reduces the risk of you developing blood clots in your legs or lungs.