Evaluation of outpatient assessment after transurethral prostatectomy

The need for a three-month visit at the outpatient clinic for assessment including uroflowmetry was retrospectively evaluated in 78 patients who underwent transurethral resection for benign prostatic hypertrophy during 1986. One patient died before discharge and six were lost to follow-up. Eleven patients requested appointments earlier than three months, and 10 of these needed further treatment; four were operated on and six were treated with drugs. The remaining 60 patients attended as arranged. Thirty-nine were discharged, but 21 required further treatment. Eleven were operated on, four were given drugs, one had an external catheter because of incontinence, and five needed further visits to the outpatient clinic for other reasons. It was not possible to predict the necessity for follow-up from preoperative symptoms, cystitis, maximum urinary flow (ml/s), blood loss during operation, or length of stay in hospital after operation. We conclude that 35% (95% c.l. 23-48%) of the arranged outpatient visits three months after transurethral resection for benign prostatic hypertrophy are necessary and that the need is not predictable.