What to Expect

Once you have had a consultation with Professor Costello, and made a decision about treatment, everything will be arranged for you.

Amber is Prof Costello’s assistant and she will schedule all of your appointments within the practice and assist with any queries.

You will meet with Helen Crowe, Professor Costello’s nurse practitioner, who will guide you through your preparation for surgery, and tell you what to expect during your stay in hospital, following your discharge from hospital, and for your long term recovery. Helen supervises the recovery of each patient, and is the person for you to contact with any health-related questions.

Helen will give you information about Pelvic Floor Exercises, which play an important role in the recovery of urinary incontinence after surgery. Helen will also give you information about how to schedule an appointment with a continence physiotherapist who will ensure that you are doing these exercises correctly.

Another important person you will meet is Dr Addie Wootten, the clinical psychologist who works with Professor Costello’s team. The diagnosis of prostate cancer, and its treatment, can cause all sorts of anxiety and concerns. Addie’s role is to prepare men and their partners for what they may experience psychologically, and to help them cope during what may be a difficult time for some.

Please visit our Common Questions page for further information.

The Prostate

The Prostate

One in six Australian men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer within their lifetime, 12,000 are diagnosed each year. Approximately 2,600 Australian men die annually due to prostate cancer, making it the second most fatal cancer in men. Advances in the early detection and treatment of this disease are believed to have sharply increased survival.

Survival Rates

Survival Rates

Ten-year disease specific survival rates of patients with radical prostatectomies are greater than 90% for low grade adenocarcinomas, greater than 85% for medium grade adenocarcinomas.

When removal of the prostate is warranted, several important factors regarding the procedure are commonly taken into consideration by both patients and physicians:

The important thing is recovery

The Latest Care

The Latest Care

Professor Tony Costello makes use of Laparoscopic Prostatectomy assisted by the da Vinci Robotic System.

This groundbreaking technology, listed as number one in Forbes Magazine’s “Five Robots That Will Change Your Life,” provides unprecedented laparoscopic vision and precise robotic instrument manipulation.

This advanced technology is in the skilled hands of Professor Tony Costello. He is Australia’s first ever Professor of Urology and performs over 100 such procedures a year. He was the first to use the Robot in Australia.

Surgeons from around the world visit Professor Costello regularly to learn from his techniques.

Read about the procedure

Read about Tony Costello