Laser Therapy Helps Men with Urine Blockage

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Removing a portion of the prostate gland with laser therapy, a procedure termed HoLEP, may be "the ideal treatment" for men with urinary blockage due to benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), new research suggests.

BPH is a common condition in older men in which the prostate gland swells and can block the flow of urine. The new findings are based on a study of 164 consecutive men treated by HoLEP between January 2000 and August 2004.

An important finding, study author Dr. James E. Lingeman noted in comments to Reuters Health, is that "all of the patients in this large series (urinated) after HoLEP, even though all were in urinary retention prior to HoLEP and many had poor bladder function."

Additionally, all of the men remain catheter free, Lingeman and colleagues from Methodist Hospital/Clarian Health Partners and Indiana University in Indianapolis note in The Journal of Urology.

The average age of men in the series was 72.1 years and the average duration of urinary blockage was 28.9 days.

It should be noted, Lingeman said, that complications, such as the need for blood transfusion, following HoLEP were "very low and lower than other forms of treatment for patients with BPH and urinary retention."

The current study, the authors conclude, suggests that HoLEP is a "particularly safe and effective" treatment for men with urinary retention.

SOURCE: Journal of Urology, September 2005.