You Don’t Have to Live With BPH: Here are Your Treatment Options
It’s good news/bad news for men approaching 60. Your chances of living to 90 are better than ever. But your chances of an enlarged prostate are also on the rise.
Over half of all men begin to experience symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) by the time they reach the age of 60.
Signs your prostate may be enlarged and compressing your urethra include:
- Difficulty starting to urinate
- Weak or slowed urine stream
- Urge to go frequently, especially at night
Our List of Treatments is Extensive
We offer a long list of BPH treatments to put you at ease and help protect your bladder and your kidneys. BPH is among the leading reasons men visit the urologists at Michigan Institute of Urology, and why we are dedicated to offering the most advanced treatments to suit a range of needs.
If your prostate is mildly enlarged, we may be able to relieve the symptoms through lifestyle changes, such as modifying your diet and getting regular exercise. Various nutritional supplements can also be considered. Oral medications, including alpha blockers and 5-alpha reductase inhibitors, have also been proven effective.
If further treatment is necessary, we offer a specific pathway of procedures, from least invasive to surgery.
8 Leading Options for Treating BPH
Prostate Artery Embolization (PAE) – Prostate artery embolization, or PAE, is a non-surgical procedure that can improve lower urinary tract symptoms by blocking the blood flow to the prostate, thereby reducing the size of the prostate. PAE is a revolutionary treatment for BPH that’s coming soon to MIU.
Prostatic Urethral Lift (UroLift®) – This incision-free procedure involves retracting, not removing, the tissue that blocks the urethra. The surgeon inserts small implants into each side of the prostate, pulling the walls of the prostate away from the urethra and opening the channel.
Rezum – A treatment that uses the natural energy stored in water vapor, or steam, to remove excess prostate tissue that is compressing the urethra. A catheter is required postoperatively.
Transurethral Incision of the Prostate (TUIP) – A precise pair of incisions in the bladder neck where the prostate merges with the bladder. This will release the restriction of the bladder-outlet and dramatically improve symptoms of BPH.
GreenLight™ Laser Therapy and HOLEP Laser Therapy – These approaches rely on a laser to vaporize obstructing prostate tissue or enulcleate the obstruction altogether. A catheter is typically required temporarily postop and an overnight stay is often advised.
Transurethral resection of prostate (TURP) – This remains the gold standard of treatment against which all other options are compared. During the procedure, the physician gently threads a thin instrument called a resectoscope through the urethra and into the prostate. The resectoscope, equipped with a camera, delivers electric currents to trim away obstructing tissue.
Aquablation therapy – Using robotic technology, the surgeon delivers heat-free water jets to trim invasive prostate tissue. This procedure requires anesthesia and an overnight hospital stay.
Robotic or open simple prostatectomy – In a robotic prostatectomy, the surgeon feeds instruments through a small incision and then removes the obstructing tissue via robotic-aided technology. In an open simple prostatectomy, the surgeon removes the tissue through a larger incision in the abdomen.
Additional treatments that MIU surgeons are studying and have experience with include iTind™ and Butterfly Stent. Both are novel, minimally invasive procedures that hold great promise in the arsenal against BPH.
Questions? None Are Too Small
If you’re experiencing signs or symptoms of BPH, or know someone who is, it may be time to contact an MIU urologist to seek treatment and to prevent permanent damage to the bladder and kidneys.
Remember, you don’t have to live with the symptoms of BPH – many treatment options are available and they are highly effective.
To learn more about BPH, its causes, and treatments, click here. If you’d like to find a nearby urologist at one of our offices, click here.
