BPH: 6 Treatments to Recovery

By Matthew Sterling, MD

What’s more popular than pickleball? For men 60 and older, an enlarged prostate is more popular! And it can interfere with a lot of lifestyle activities.

Nearly half of all men experience symptoms of an enlarged prostate, or benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), by the age of 60. For each one of these men, the pathway to treatment can differ.

The prostate is considered enlarged when its tissue expands to the point of compressing the urethra, which runs through the prostate from the bladder. Men with BPH may have difficulty starting to urinate, leakage, a weak urine stream, and an urge to go frequently, particularly at night.

Fortunately, BPH isn’t cancerous, but left untreated it can contribute to other ailments, including urinary tract infections (UTIs), bladder or kidney damage, bladder stones, or urinary incontinence.

The Leading BPH Treatments, Tailored to Meet a Spectrum of Needs

BPH is among the leading reasons men visit the urologists at MidLantic Urology, and why we are dedicated to serving a full spectrum of solutions. If one treatment doesn’t suit you or your lifestyle, we will find the one that does.

Outside of a few effective oral medications, here are some of your options:

Treatments for BPH: Your Surgical Options

Water vapor therapy (Rezum^®): Considered a natural alternative to surgery, Rezum is an in-office, minimally invasive procedure that uses water vapor therapy to shrink the prostate and reduce the obstruction.

Prostatic Urethral Lift (UroLift®): This incision-free, minimally invasive procedure involves moving, not removing, the tissue that blocks the urethra. The surgeon inserts two small implants into each side of the prostate, which bind and pull the tissue away from the urethra and remove the blockage. (Think of a curtain being drawn back.) UroLift is typically performed as an outpatient procedure.

Transurethral resection of prostate (TURP): This option tends to suit men with moderate to severe BPH-related urinary problems that haven’t responded to medication. During the procedure, the physician gently inserts a tube-like instrument called a resectoscope through the urethra and to the prostate. The resectoscope is equipped with a camera and delivers electric currents to trim away excess tissue.

HoLEP (holmium laser enucleation of the prostate): This minimally invasive treatment is often relied on to treat very enlarged prostates because it can remove the most tissue at once. As with a TURP, the surgeon performs this by feeding the resectoscope through the urethra. The scope is equipped with a laser that can core out (enucleate) the prostate in one piece. A second instrument cuts the tissue into smaller pieces that can then be removed.

Robotic or open simple prostatectomy – This surgery is similar to a HoLEP, but requires accessing the prostate through the skin rather than the urethra. In an open simple prostatectomy, the surgeon removes the obstructing tissue through a large incision in the abdomen. In a robotic prostatectomy, the surgeon feeds instruments through much smaller incisions and then removes the tissue via robotic-aided technology. This option may be recommended for men with severely enlarged prostates.

Questions? None are Too Small

There may be as many enlarged prostates in this country as there are pickleball enthusiasts, but we treat each one based on the distinct needs of each patient. Men who experience symptoms of BPH should schedule a visit with a urologist to rule out prostate cancer and to prevent other conditions from developing.

And most of all, do it for peace of mind, so you can return to your normal activities without worry.

Our doctors and patient navigators are here to answer questions and provide patients with the information to make the right treatment options. If you’d like to learn more about BPH, its causes, and risk factors, visit our page dedicated to the condition, diagnosis, and treatment, here. If you’d like to find a physician at one of our 42 offices near you, visit our physicians portal.