Treatment for an enlarged prostate will depend on how severe your symptoms are. Surgery is usually only recommended for moderate to severe symptoms that have not responded to medicine.

If you have mild symptoms immediate treatment is usually unnecessary, but you’ll have regular prostate check-ups and be advised to make lifestyle changes including:

• Reducing your consumption of liquids, especially before going out in public or before bedtime
• Drinking less caffeine, fizzy drinks and alcohol
• Avoiding, if possible or monitoring the use of medications such as decongestants, antihistamines, antidepressants and diuretics
• Limiting any intake of artificial sweeteners
• Training the bladder to hold more urine for longer periods
• Exercising pelvic floor muscles

Shockwave Therapy for Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia

Medications do not work for all men with Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) and invasive surgery may be limited due to a patient’s health. Many BPH patients dread surgery due to its associated pains and complications afterwards. What’s more, after some surgical procedures sexual activity can be more difficult.

As a result, interest in shockwave therapy for BPH is growing and this is what we provide. You can find out more about how this treatment works by following the link to Shockwave Therapy for Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia.

Minimally Invasive BPH Procedures

There are a  number of minimally invasive procedures that relieve BPH. These can destroy enlarged prostate tissue or widen the urethra, which can help relieve blockage and urinary retention.

These procedures include:

• Transurethral needle ablation
• Transurethral microwave thermotherapy
• High-intensity focused ultrasound
• Transurethral electrovaporisation
• Water-induced thermotherapy
• Prostatic stent insertion

Most of these procedures use heat to destroy prostate tissue in one way or another.

Transurethral Needle Ablation (TUNA)

Transurethral Needle Ablation (TUNA) sometime referred to as radiofrequency ablation is a procedure where a combined visual and surgical instrument (cystoscope) is inserted through the tip of the penis into the tube that carries urine from the bladder (urethra). Using the cystoscope, a specialist will guide a pair of tiny needles into the prostate tissue that is pressing on the urethra.

Heat generating radio waves are then passed through the needles creating scar tissue. This scarring shrinks prostate tissue, allowing urine to flow more easily.

Transurethral Microwave Thermotherapy (TUMT)

Transurethral Microwave Thermotherapy (TUMT) is where a small microwave antenna is inserted through the tip of the penis into the tube that carries urine from the bladder. The specialist will extend the antenna until it reaches the area of the urethra surrounded by the prostate. When it does they will allow the antenna to emit a dose of microwave energy that heats and destroys excess prostate tissue blocking urine flow.

High-intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU)

For this procedure, a urologist inserts a special high frequency ultrasound probe into the rectum, near the prostate. Ultrasound energy, or sound waves, are then transmitted through the rectal wall and focused on specific targets within the prostate identified by MRI and confirmed by ultrasound. At the focal point, sound waves, create thermal ablation destroying targeted tissue through vaporisation while the surrounding tissue remains unharmed.

A typical HIFU procedure lasts between 2-4 hours (depending on the size of the prostate) and is either done under general anesthesia or an epidural and IV sedation.

Transurethral Electrovaporization of the Prostate (TUVP)

This is another minimally invasive procedures to treat BPH. It combines tissue removal by vaporization with coagulation, thereby reducing the degree of bleeding.

For the TUVP procedure, a urologist inserts a tubelike instrument called a resectoscope through the urethra to reach the prostate. A resectoscope has a light and a lens for viewing. It also has a tool that uses an electric current to cut, remove, or destroy tissue and control bleeding. The vaporizing effect penetrates below the surface area being treated and seals blood vessels, which reduces the risk of bleeding.

Water-induced Thermotherapy (WITT)

This minimally invasive procedure uses heated water to destroy prostate tissue. The technique involves the placement of an inflated balloon along the length of the prostate followed by the circulation of heated water (which circulates through the catheter system), which heats and destroys the surrounding prostate tissue. The treatment balloon can target a specific region of the prostate, while surrounding tissues in the urethra and bladder remain protected.

WITT is usually performed in a single, 45-minute outpatient treatment session.

Prostatic Stent Insertion

This procedure involves a urologist inserts a prostatic stent through the urethra to the area narrowed by the enlarged prostate. Once in place, the stent expands like a spring pushing back the prostate tissue and widening the urethra. A Prostatic stent may be used as temporary or permanent measure. They are usually used in men who may not tolerate or be suitable for other procedures.

Alternatives to medication and minimally invasive procedures are Surgery & Shockwave Therapy. To find out more about Shockwave Therapy please call us or complete the contact form below.