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Benign prostatic hyperplasia, also known as an enlarged prostate, primarily causes lower urinary tract symptoms in the form of the frequent or urgent need to urinate, increased daytime or nighttime urinary frequency, difficulty in starting urination, or a weak stream of urine.
Although there is no cure, there are many useful treatment options to resolve the symptoms. Once the prostate undergoes hypertrophy, which is an increase in the size of the gland, or hyperplasia, which is an increase in the number of cells, it continues to grow unless medical therapy is initiated.
Treatment Measures
This growth of prostatic tissue can be explained in simpler terms as the squeezing of the urethra by the prostatic tissue, much like a straw being squeezed. The first line of treatment often is by medications, such as alpha-blockers to relax the prostate or 5 alpha-reductase inhibitors to reduce its size. While most medications available today may have a potential benefit in relieving the patient’s symptoms, most often these interfere with the patient’s sexual function or may not be effective at completely relieving the symptoms.
For those patients who have moderate to severe BPH or when there is an enlargement of the median lobe that is not relieved with medical therapy alone, there is a multitude of surgical treatment options. Consult with the best renal transplant surgeon in Sarjapur Road to know more about the treatments and procedures.
Surgical Aspects
The best surgical option is often a shared medical decision based on the patient’s input and the doctor’s preference, depending on the size and shape of the prostate and the patient's overall medical condition. Trans urethral resection of the prostate (TURP) which involves shaving the prostatic tissue with the electric current was considered the Gold standard, however, it has its adverse effects in the form of bleeding, urinary leak, or rarely erectile dysfunction.
For patients with moderately sized or large prostates, or those with median lobe hypertrophy, laser surgery is often the preferred treatment option. Multiple wavelengths are available, the most popular being the holmium laser. Holmium lasers can interact with soft tissues while controlling bleeding and maintaining safety margins.
Holmium laser enucleation of the prostate, or HOLEP, is one of the most effective laser treatments for BPH. It is an effective treatment option for patients with large prostates or for those with other health conditions that warrant the avoidance of more traditional surgical options. Patients on blood thinners are also ideal candidates for this procedure, as it minimises bleeding. Clinical outcomes, including lower recurrence rates, with HOLEP, are well established.
Other available treatment options include PVP or Photovaporisation of the prostate, HOLVP or Holmium laser vaporisation of the prostate, and BIVAP or Bipolar vaporization of the prostate. Get the finest Bangalore kidney stone hospital at the Sarjaput branch of Manipal Hospitals.
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