Enlarged Prostate – Urology Orange County CA – Find the treatment that is best for you.
Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia, or BPH, is a non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate gland. This condition affects millions of men, and often causes problems with urination, including urinary obstruction or retention of urine. Other symptoms include slow urine stream, pushing or straining to empty the bladder, urinary frequency, nocturia (waking at night to urinate) and even urinary incontinence.
Treatments for BPH
There is no one best treatment or best surgery for BPH (enlarged prostate). Many factors need to be considered such as prostate size, symptom severity and each man’s overall health.
Observation
Men with mild to moderate symptoms may choose not to be treated, but to be followed instead by a urologist with periodic check ups.
Medication
Medical treatment for the enlarged prostate includes alpha blockers (a few examples are Hytrin, Cardura and Flomax). These medications relax the prostate to help relieve the symptoms of urinary tract obstruction. Another class of drugs includes Proscar and Avodart. They shrink the prostate. Sometimes both types of drugs are given together for maximal effect.
TUMT – a non-surgical treatment performed in the office
Transurethral Microwave Therapy or TUMT is the technical, generic terminology for our non-surgical BPH treatment Cooled ThermotherapyTM. TUMT is a minimally invasive, in-office option for the treatment of symptomatic BPH or enlarged prostate, and is covered by Medicare as well as many private insurance plans.
How does TUMT work?
The TUMT procedure is performed right in the urologist’s office and requires between 30 and 45 minutes. A specially-made minimally-invasive catheter is inserted into the urethra using local anesthetic to avoid as much discomfort as possible. Within the tubing is a microwave antenna that heats and destroys prostatic tissue. The Urologix proprietary Cooled ThermoTherapy treatment is unique because cool water is circulated within the catheter. This cooling prevents surrounding healthy tissue from damage and preserves the urethra. After treatment, the prostate begins to heal and the patient will eventually return to more normal urinary patterns.
Laser Prostatectomy
The urologist uses a laser fiber to vaporize the obstructing enlarged prostate tissue. Several types of lasers can be used such as:
- Thulium laser, or Quanta laser
- RevoLix laser vaporesection or enucleation of the prostate
- Photoselective Vaporization of the Prostate (PVP) using the Greenlight HPS
- Holmium Laser Ablation of the Prostate (HoLAP)
Transurethral Resection of the prostate (TURP), Bipolar TURP, Saline TURP, Plasma Vaporization of the Prostate
The traditional TURP, or transurethral resection of the prostate, has advanced in recent years due to improved technology with better visualizaion and new techniques for removing tissue. These advances in prostate surgery result in shorter hospital stays and less blood loss. Prostate tissue is vaporized or resected through the urethra using an bipolar plasma electrode. This is often performed as an outpatient, or an overnight hospital stay for older patients or patients with particularly large prostates.
Open Prostatectomy
Benign prostate tissue is removed with open surgery. This operation is reserved for extremely large prostates (less than 1% of men).
Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia, or BPH, is a non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate gland. This condition affects millions of men, and often causes problems with urination, including urinary obstruction or retention of urine. Other symptoms include slow urine stream, pushing or straining to empty the bladder, urinary frequency, nocturia (waking at night to urinate) and even urinary incontinence.
