What should you know about cystectomy operation?

It is most often considered when bladder cancer requires major surgery. The exact operation depends on the tumour, your general health, previous treatment, and whether bladder preservation remains suitable.

A radical cystectomy removes the whole bladder and nearby tissues or organs selected according to anatomy and disease extent. A partial cystectomy removes only a section of the bladder and is appropriate in limited circumstances. Nearby lymph nodes may also be removed for examination.

If the whole bladder is removed, the surgeon makes a urinary diversion. Urine may drain through a small abdominal opening into an external bag, into an internal reservoir emptied with a catheter, or through a reconstructed bladder connected to the urethra. Not every option suits every person.

Before surgery, give the care team a complete medicines and supplements list, including blood-thinning medicines. Follow their instructions about eating, drinking, bowel preparation, smoking, and which medicines to pause. Meet the stoma or continence nurse if a diversion is planned, and arrange practical help for the first part of recovery.

Afterward, pain control, breathing exercises, early supported walking, and gradual eating help recovery. Learn how to empty and care for the diversion before discharge. Keep the wound and any stoma clean as instructed, drink according to the clinical plan, avoid heavy lifting until cleared, and attend follow-up for pathology results.

Contact the surgical team promptly for fever, worsening wound redness, pus, persistent vomiting, increasing abdominal pain, new swelling, or a diversion that produces much less urine than expected. New leakage around a catheter or stoma also needs specific advice.

Seek emergency care for sudden breathlessness, chest pain, fainting, heavy bleeding, severe confusion, or a painful swollen leg. These symptoms can signal a serious postoperative problem and should not wait for a routine appointment.

Ask whether the operation will be partial or radical, which nearby tissues may be removed, and why the recommended urinary diversion fits your health and daily life. Discuss effects on sexual function, fertility, continence, work, exercise, and travel. Also ask who to contact after discharge and which changes in urine output require immediate help.