Benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) is a condition that affects the prostatic gland. As men ages, the prostatic gland grows slowly. The origin of this growth is due to several factors. When this gland grows, it can make pressure on the urethra, and alter the urine flow.
The enlarged prostate is a disease that affects 50% of men over 50. However, treatment helps to improve the quality of life.
The management includes expectant treatment, medical treatment (drugs), surgery, the prostatic endoprosthesis and focal therapy.
Indications for focal therapy
In the majority of cases, BPH causes a uniform enlargement of the prostate. Nevertheless, there is a different type which affects a small section of the gland known as the median lobe.
As a consequence, BPH produces an overgrowth of the median lobe which may press the bladder neck, producing a mechanical blockage to urine flow.
It is worth mentioning that median lobe BPH does not respond to medication or to transurethral procedures. So focal therapy is a good option for these cases.
Focal therapy: The procedure
The main goal of Focal Laser Ablation is diminishing urinary symptoms and we achieve that by decreasing the enlarged transition zone tissue causing a urinary blockage. This process is known as debulking because it reduces the bulky BPH tissue.
The ablation is performed with a type of laser that coagulates, not vaporizes, tissue. Our specialists delimitate areas of the transitional zone near but not making contact with the urethra. This allows creating strategic tissue shrinkage by creating inoffensive scar tissue that will then be reabsorbed by the body. After that, the annoying urinary symptoms related to BPH begin to improve in a matter of weeks.
Advantages of focal therapy
Some of the advantages of getting prostate laser treatment are:
-Quick relief of symptoms.
-Very low, almost zero risks of erectile dysfunction and incontinence.
-Noticeable improvement in urinary flow.
-Minimum hospital stay since it is an outpatient procedure.
-The option of choice in patients under treatment with anticoagulants.
-Short recovery time.
-Long-term solution.
What are the risks of focal therapy?
We can assure that there are little to no long term side effects related to this procedure. This is due that in the majority of cases specialists do not damage the urethral lining. Retrograde ejaculation (semen enters the bladder instead of emerging through the penis during orgasm) that has been described after Green Light Laser is less common after focal therapy.
However, minimal transient (short term) side effects can occur after laser ablation, but these are likely to disappear quickly.
At the Harley Street Hospital, we have some of the best specialists to perform focal therapy for BPH. Book an appointment to get a checkup.
You might also want to read: Medical Treatment for Enlarged Prostate
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