As Story, Wyoming, resident 64-year-old John Matejov got older, he increasingly
had difficulty emptying his bladder. Figuring it was just something that
goes along with aging, John continued to live with the ailment that is
commonly caused by an enlarged prostate, and is quite common as men his
age. But when he heard about a procedure that could help, he decided to
look into it further.
“I was getting up three to four times a night,” John said.
“It felt like I was spending my whole life peeing and nobody wants
to do that.”
That led him to
Dr. Attila Barabas at the Campbell County Medical Group (CCMG)
Urology clinic. A board certified urologist in Gillette for more than seven years,
Dr. Barabas treats men and women for everything from kidney stones and
urinary incontinence, to vasectomies and erectile dysfunction, to the
enlarged prostrate that brought John to seek his help.
Symptoms of enlarged prostate can include:
- Difficulty starting urination
- Frequent urination
- Urgency to urinate
- A feeling of not being able to empty the bladder
- A urinary stream that starts and stops
- Straining to urinate
- Continued dribbling of urine
- Returning to urinate again minutes after finishing
“A lot of people do suffer with these ailments,” Dr. Barabas
said. “And there’s treatment that can be a huge benefit and
improve the quality of life.”
For many patients, ailments that slowly occur over a long period of time
can be something easily labeled as just something you have to deal with
as you get older. And while it’s not always easy to have a conversation
with a doctor or nurse about some of the ailments Dr. Barabas treats,
having them properly addressed can drastically improve a patient’s life.
While not the most comfortable health issue to discuss with doctors and
nurses, John said Dr. Barabas and his staff made him feel at ease with
the transurethral resection of the prostate, or TURP, procedure and the
conversations around treatment and post-operation care.
“Our goal is to provide the highest possible care for our patients,”
Dr. Barabas said. “It can make a big difference in their quality
of life.”
“It’s very humbling,” John said. “You leave your
dignity at the door. They made this uncomfortable, undignified procedure
more than bearable. You don’t feel like a problem, you feel like
a person with a problem they want to help you with.”
Since having the procedure done, John has had positive results and said
he feels like he’s enjoying his life more.
“I got almost immediate results,” John said. “It gave
me my sleep back. If you want to change your life, get your sleep back,
have it done.”
You can schedule an appointment with Dr. Barabas at 307.688.3636. Find
the CCMG Urology Clinic on the south side of
Campbell County Memorial Hospital, 501 S. Burma Avenue in Gillette, Wyoming. Learn more at
www.cchwyo.org/urology.
Article written by Kim Phagan-Hansel, Wyoming freelance writer