Rezūm Procedure Pain Intensity and Duration

I wrote a blog about my urology visit today. But here I would specifically ask about the Rezūm procedure. You see, I am a pain wimp. My urologist says she does them in office because the cystoscopy and transrectal probe are the most painful part of the procedure, that numbing, and steam heating of the prostate only lasts about 6-9 seconds. She said she could do it outpatient under conscious sedation but that was usually for patients that could not handle the probe or scope.

So be honest, just how much does it hurt to numb one’s prostate and is there any pain associated with superheating prostate tissue with steam. Two separate scores with one being minimal to 10 being maximal.

I can't answer for the Rezum procedure itself, but for the procedure that I had, they did a rigid cystoscopy, transrectal ultrasound, and two shots into the prostate to numb it. I would say that the pain scale for the cystoscopy itself (before they actually started the procedure) wasn't bad at all, probably a 2. I would only rate a flexible cystoscopy at a 3. The transrectal ultrasound felt to me like I was mildly constipated, so I would call the pain scale on that one a 1. The injections through the rectum into the prostate I would call a 5. For me, the most painful part was the bladder spasms that I had while I was still having to use the foley catheter after the procedure (thank goodness that was only over a weekend). The bladder spasms, for me were a 9. That being said, the relief after the initial recovery has made it worth the pain for me.