Traveling to UR Medicine for HoLEP

If you don’t live in Rochester, you can still come to UR Medicine for HoLEP. This page is the practical logistics: how to plan the visit, what to bring, where to stay, and how the timeline actually works.

Who this page is for

Patients from across:

Rochester and the immediate area (Monroe County) — local patients, this is mostly just for orientation.
Greater Western New York — Buffalo, Niagara, Jamestown, Olean, Hornell, Corning, Elmira.
The Finger Lakes — Canandaigua, Geneva, Auburn, Ithaca, Watkins Glen.
Central New York — Syracuse, Utica, Binghamton, Cortland.
The Southern Tier — Owego, Endicott, Vestal.
Northeast region — Buffalo to Pittsburgh to Boston to Albany, including patients who have been told elsewhere that they are not surgical candidates.
National patients — particularly men with very large prostates, anticoagulation (blood-thinning medication) challenges, or prior-procedure failures who are seeking high-volume HoLEP expertise.

The same logistics framework applies whether you’re driving in from Geneva for the morning or flying in from Pittsburgh for three days.

The visit timeline

A typical out-of-Rochester HoLEP pathway looks like this:

Visit 1 — Consultation (1 day)

One in-person visit at the UR Medicine Urology clinic, 158 Sawgrass Drive, Rochester.
Approximate visit duration: 60–90 minutes (the visit itself; plan for travel time and arrival buffer).
Review of your history, imaging, current medications, comorbidities (other ongoing medical conditions). Discussion of HoLEP and what to expect.
For many patients, this consultation visit alone is enough to get on the surgical schedule.
For some patients, additional pre-operative imaging or testing is ordered — this can often be coordinated through your local physician rather than requiring a return trip.

For regional patients who prefer a virtual first visit, ask the scheduling staff about telehealth availability. Most consultations work best in person, but telehealth is sometimes appropriate as a pre-screening step before scheduling the in-person visit and surgery together.

Pre-operative work (between Visit 1 and surgery)

Basic laboratory testing — can be done locally and faxed to UR Medicine.
Pre-operative imaging — if not already obtained, the imaging order from UR Medicine can typically be filled at a center near you.
Anesthesia evaluation — typically by phone or virtual visit for medically stable patients; in-person evaluation may be needed for patients with significant comorbidities.
Medication management instructions, particularly for patients on anticoagulation.

Visit 2 — Surgery (1–2 days at UR Medicine)

Surgery at either Strong Memorial Hospital or Highland Hospital — the surgical team confirms which is appropriate for your case at scheduling.
Surgery duration: typically 1–2 hours, depending on prostate size.
Most patients are discharged the same day.
A small minority of patients stay overnight for specific medical reasons.

Catheter removal — at home, no return visit

Most patients remove the catheter (a thin, flexible tube that drains urine from the bladder) themselves at home, 24–48 hours after surgery, following written and hands-on instructions given before discharge. For out-of-town patients, this means no separate return trip just for catheter removal.
If you cannot urinate after removing the catheter, call the office — this is uncommon and easily managed.
You can generally plan your trip home for the day the catheter comes out or shortly after, once you’re voiding comfortably.

Total time in Rochester for a typical case

2-trip pathway: an in-person consultation visit (1 day, often same-day travel), then a return trip for surgery — roughly 2–4 days, covering surgery and the days the catheter is in before you remove it at home and travel back.
1-trip pathway (for patients traveling a significant distance): consultation by video visit, then surgery and the catheter period folded into a single 4–7 day trip. Possible for many patients when scheduling allows — ask the scheduling staff to coordinate.

Where to stay

Patients traveling to Rochester have several practical options near UR Medicine:

Hilton Garden Inn Rochester/University & Medical Center — at 30 Celebration Drive in the College Town complex, a short walk from the University of Rochester Medical Center campus; free airport shuttle that also serves the medical center. The most convenient option for most patients.
Other hotels near the medical campus — multiple chains within a 5–15 minute drive of the clinic and hospital. The hotel concierge can typically assist with a hospital shuttle or rideshare.
Extended-stay hotels — useful for patients who want both lodging and a small kitchen for longer trips.

For specific hotel recommendations near UR Medicine, the scheduling staff can provide a current list at the time of your appointment.

What to bring

For the consultation visit:

Current medication list (names, doses, frequencies, prescribing physician)
Any prior prostate imaging (TRUS reports, MRI reports, ideally on CD or as PDFs)
Recent prostate-specific antigen (PSA) values (with dates)
Recent International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) scores if you have them
Names and contact info of your primary care physician and any other treating physicians
A list of questions you want to discuss

For the surgery trip:

All items from the consultation visit
Toiletries and clothing for the duration of your stay
Loose-fitting clothing for the trip home (catheter-friendly)
Photo ID and insurance card
A friend or family member who can drive you home from the hospital — you cannot drive yourself after anesthesia
Phone charger; the days are slower than expected and you’ll want it

What about getting back home

After successful catheter removal and a passed voiding trial:

Driving home — generally safe once you are past the anesthesia (24+ hours post-op) and feel comfortable with the longer drive. Many regional patients drive home the day of catheter removal.
Flying home — generally safe; the typical post-HoLEP recovery does not preclude air travel. For longer flights, plan for hydration and bathroom access during travel.
Activity restrictions apply at home (no heavy lifting, no intense exercise for 4–6 weeks) — same as for local patients. See the Recovery page for the full week-by-week timeline.

Follow-up at distance

After the catheter-removal visit, most follow-up can be coordinated with your local physician:

The 4–6 week post-op follow-up can often be done by telehealth.
Routine PSA monitoring after HoLEP can be coordinated with your primary care or local urology team.
Late or unexpected issues should be discussed with the UR Medicine Urology office; for non-urgent matters, telehealth is usually appropriate.

For urgent post-op concerns when you are not local — heavy bleeding that doesn’t slow with hydration, inability to urinate, fever, severe pain — call UR Medicine Urology immediately during business hours, or go to your nearest ER and have them contact UR Medicine Urology directly. Most issues resolve with appropriate management; the worst outcome is delaying contact because you are not local.

What to do next

To schedule a consultation and start coordinating your visit:

Call UR Medicine Urology: (585) 275-2838

Tell the scheduling staff:

That you are traveling from out of town.
The general distance / region you are coming from.
Whether you would prefer to combine visits (single trip) or split them (multiple trips).

The staff will help coordinate the logistics that work for your situation.

Clinic location: 158 Sawgrass Drive, Rochester, NY Operating hospitals: Strong Memorial Hospital and Highland Hospital, Rochester, NY

What HoLEP is and how it works
How HoLEP compares to other BPH procedures
What recovery actually looks like
Already in urinary retention? — particularly relevant for out-of-town patients who have been told elsewhere they are not surgical candidates.
Frequently asked questions