Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a common, noncancerous, and benign enlargement of the prostate gland. BPH is the main cause of significant lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in older individuals with a prostate, including urinary frequency, urinary urgency, feelings of incomplete emptying, having to get up to urinate at night, difficulty starting a urinary stream, or a weak stream that starts and stops. There are multiple means of treatment for the condition, medication being the first line of treatment, and then surgery is considered when all other methods have failed. Symptoms recurrence, and/or complications determine if the patient is a candidate for surgery.
Holmium laser enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP) is an alternative to the gold standard surgery Transurethral Resection of the Prostate (TURP). It is a minimally invasive treatment that does not require an incision. HoLEP is used during a cystoscopy, which guides the laser to access the enlarged tissue of the prostate near the bladder. The laser is used to cut excess tissue out of the prostate gland. It can vaporize, cut through the prostate, and also help to cauterize / coagulate small to medium-sized blood vessels. A significant amount of prostate tissue can be resected with minimal amounts of bleeding. HoLEP has minimal side effects compared to the TURP procedure.
Photo vaporization of the prostate (PVP) is considered an alternative for the Transurethral Resection of the Prostate (TURP). It removes excess prostate tissue by means of vaporization and coagulates the remaining soft tissue using light. PVP has become the reference surgical technique to manage patients who cannot stop anticoagulation/antiplatelet therapy.
