ASL - Prostate Enlargement Treatment

Prostate enlargement is a common condition associated with the natural aging process in men, affecting half of men between the ages of 70 to 79 years old and 90% of men over the age of 80.

To help bring a better understanding to the options for prostate enlargement care, Joseph Gemmete, M.D. answers common questions about prostate enlargement.

Is benign prostatic hyperplasia life threatening?
More commonly referred to as an enlarged prostate, benign prostatic hyperplasia is a common, non-life-threatening health issue. Not everyone who has benign prostate hyperplasia will experience noticeable symptoms.

What urinary impacts does benign prostate hyperplasia have?
…lower urinary tract symptoms include: frequent or urgent urination, weak urine stream, dribbling at the end of urination and incomplete bladder emptying. Left untreated, these symptoms can lead to bladder stones and urinary tract infections.

What should patients know about the prostate resection treatment approach?
A portion of the prostate is cut away to improve urine strain and eliminate symptoms of benign prostate hyperplasia. It is typically performed as an outpatient procedure and requires three to six weeks to fully recover. Although it is the most common option, transurethral resection of the prostate can sometimes cause impotence and sexual dysfunction.

Are there minimally invasive alternatives to prostate resection?
Prostate artery embolization is a promising new technique to treat prostate enlargement. Using a catheter, interventional radiologists access the prostate arteries to block the blood flow to the enlarged gland.

This nonsurgical procedure poses less risk, and effectively shrinks the gland by 30% to 40%. Patients will not experience the side effects associated with resection. It also has a speedier recovery time, with patients back to normal activity within a few days.

Although studies suggest prostate artery embolization is an effective treatment, it is still widely seen as experimental in America.

Ultimately, the choice of treatment should always be made in consultation with a urologist.

Read the full article (in English): https://www.michiganmedicine.org/heal...