Greenlight Laser Prostate Surgery, done in the Office!

BPH, or benign prostatic hyperplasia, is common.  Really common.  80% of men by age 80 have some degree of BPH.  But many men suffer in silence because they think it's just a sign of aging, nothing to do about it.  Is this you?  Do you know someone who thinks like this?  Phoenix urologist Dr. Hong offers assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of BPH.  Watch this segment featured on 3TV Primetime News regarding a safe and effective procedure for BPH that can be done in the comfort and convenience of Dr. Hong's office, the Greenlight laser PVP (photovaporization of prostate), or laser TURP.  

 

What is BPH?

The prostate is a male gland that supports the nutrients in your semen.  As men age, the prostate can enlarge and cause difficulty urinating.  Essentially, men can develop a plumbing blockage from the prostate.  Over time, the bladder muscle can get weaker as it works harder and harder to empty the bladder.   Left untreated, you may eventually lose your ability to urinate at all and may have to have a catheter (tube) placed into your bladder in order to urinate.  It can even result in other more serious health conditions such as kidney failure.

To prevent the loss of bladder function, it is important to seek medical care with the first symptoms of BPH. In addition to preventing the loss of bladder function, early diagnosis and treatment for enlarged prostate helps to prevent related complications such as urinary tract infections, bladder stones, kidney failure and incontinence. 

Symptoms

You may be having any of these symptoms, which often bring patients to Dr. Hong’s urology office, where men can seek treatment for BPH.  These include:

• Slow urinary stream
• Interrupted urinary stream, or dribbling after urinating
• Straining to urinate or the sensation you are unable to fully empty your bladder
• More frequent urination or urge to urinate
• Getting up several times in the night to go to the bathroom
• Urinary leakage
• Urinary tract infection

In rare instances, these symptoms can be signs of another, more serious condition, such as prostate cancer. For this reason, it is important that you schedule a consultation with your doctor as soon as possible if you are experiencing difficulty urinating.

Treatment

In less severe cases of BPH, you may be able to get by without therapy or with dietary modifications.  But as BPH symptoms worsen, you may have to consider therapy with or without medications.  Based on your unique BPH situation, Dr. Mark Hong will be able to suggest one of the following options:

• Medical therapy - medicines such as "Flomax" or other medications meant to relax the prostate and help your stream.    
• Urolift procedure - a new procedure deploying small staples to "iift" the prostate back and allow a more open prostate channel.  
• TUNA, microwave - procedures using heat energy that can be useful in certain settings to treat BPH minimally invasively, usually in the office.  
• TURP - the traditional method of scraping out the inside of the prostate, similar to a "roto rooter".  There are newer methods of this technique these days, including "Bipolar TURP" and "plasma button TURP".    
• Laser enucleation of prostate (HoLEP) - laser used to shell out the prostate from the inside.  Different procedure from the Greenlight laser procedure.  
• Open or robotic simple prosatatectomy - removing the prostate gland almost entirely via an open or laparoscopic or robotic approach.  Involves a much longer recovery and is usually not necessary except for very large prostate glands.  
• Greenlight laser PVP (photovaporization prostate) or laser TURP - minimally invasive laser therapy for BPH that melts the prostate open from the inside.  While the Greenlight is usually performed in the hospital, Dr. Hong is one of the only surgeons in the world who have extensive experience performing this procedure in the office.  Watch the video above.

There is truly no one perfect solution to the problem.  Rather, Dr. Hong can work with your particular BPH condition to customize the right tool for the problem.

 

For More Information

If you suspect you or a loved one has BPH, please contact Dr. Hong’s urology office so that we can schedule you for the first available appointment.  A consultation and testing can put your mind at ease, whether you require treatment or not.