Prostate Surgery

Patients who have difficulty in passing urine or have retention of urine due to an enlarged prostate are treated by transurethral resection of the prostate. This surgery can be done under spinal or general anesthesia. There is no cut involved on the skin. Using a cystoscope, the prostate is directly visualized and then using a resectoscope and electric current, prostate tissue is scooped out. At the end of the surgery, a urinary catheter is placed for 2 to 4 days. Post removal of catheter patients will find that their urine flow has improved remarkably and the feeling of some urine remaining in the bladder after voiding has gone. Usually, the patient stays in the hospital for 1 to 2 days. This surgery is the gold standard for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia.

This is the latest technological refinement in prostate surgery. Patients with BPH are treated using a green laser through a cystoscope. The prostate tissue is evaporated using the green laser. This technique is especially useful for patients with heart disease who are on blood thinners such as aspirin or have a pacemaker. Prostate surgery can be done in these patients without stopping blood thinners or changing pacemaker settings. There is no to minimal bleeding in this surgery. In fact, it can even be done on a day-care basis, meaning that the patient need not be admitted to the hospital for overnight.