Tag: TURP

Categories
Enlarged Prostate

TURP or PAE?

Deciding on BPH treatment.

Today we will continue looking at a surgical method to treat benign prostate hyperplasia ( BPH) that has been around for a very long time called transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP).

We will also compare some of the risks it carries with that of a more recent and extremely effective procedure for BPH called prostate artery embolization ( PAE).

So which is better TURP or PAE? What are the benefits? The side effects? And the risks?

One of the benefits of treating benign prostate hyperplasia through the surgical procedure, transurethral resection of the prostate( TURP), is that it has been around for a long time.

The procedure has stood the test of time, and the results of it have been known to have long-term outcomes, with its effects sometimes lasting as long as 15 years or more.

Another benefit of TURP is that like Prostate Artery Embolization, TURP doesn’t involve any incisions.

However, TURP is very different that PAE.

Prostate Artery Embolization is an outpatient procedure performed by an interventional radiologist.

PAE begins with the insertion of a tiny catheter that is threaded through the blood vessels until it reaches the artery that supplies blood to the prostate.

Once in place, tiny beads are sent through the catheter and are released into the artery. These particles then create a blockage that decreases the blood flow to the prostate in order to stop its growth.

While TURP, is also non-invasive in that it is not an open surgery, it is still a surgery nonetheless and is quite different than PAE.

TURP is a surgery that involves an instrument called a resectoscope, which is inserted through the tip of the penis and into the urethra. Then, using an electrical current, pieces of the prostate are removed.

Unlike PAE which is a same-day procedure, TURP usually involves a hospital stay and has a much longer recovery time.

Another key difference between the TURP procedure and PAE is the specific set of side effects and risks that come with either procedure.

One area in which they differ greatly is the effect that the procedure can have on erectile function.

While one method carries a risk of retrograde ejaculation and erectile dysfunction, the other carries no risk of retrograde ejaculation, and can actually improve erectile function.

In our next article, we will dive deeper into the effect that TURP and PAE have on erectile function or dysfunction.

Categories
Enlarged Prostate

TURP: The Procedure and The Recovery

For around 100 years, transurethral resection of the prostate was the main treatment method for benign prostate hyperplasia.

Did you know that for around 100 years, transurethral resection of the prostate was the main treatment method for benign prostate hyperplasia?

That’s a long time. And, this procedure is still rather common today.

So what exactly is a transurethral resection of the prostate?

What does it entail?

And what does the recovery look like?

These are all great questions, so let’s get started answering them.

A transurethral resection of the prostate, also known as TURP is a surgery used to treat urinary problems that are caused by an enlarged prostate.

The TURP procedure begins with the use of general anesthesia, followed by the insertion of a resectoscope – a tool that we covered the history and development of in previous articles.

A resectoscope is a thin metal tube that is about 12 inches long and .5 inches in diameter that is inserted into the end of the penis where it is guided into the urethra.

The instrument contains a light, a camera, and a wire loop which is then heated with an electric current. The electrical current running through the wire loops is used to cut tissue and seal blood vessels, while the surgeon removes the tissue that is blocking the urethra one piece at a time.

Once the tissue is removed, a catheter is then inserted into the urethra to pump fluid into the bladder and flush away pieces of the prostate that have been cut.

Following a TURP procedure, most men need to stay in the hospital for one or two days or until there is no significant amount of post-op blood in their urine or other post-op issues.

TURP remains a very common surgery for BPH, with some estimations pointing at upwards of 150,000 men in the United States having TURP each year.

Transurethral resection of the prostate is a treatment that in the past, many men have opted for because it does not remove the entire prostate, and it doesn’t involve any incisions. It is also well-known to have long-term outcomes, with the effects of treatment sometimes lasting 15 years or more.

However, this method of treating BPH is not without its own set of side effects and risks. Therefore more and more men are opting for a non-invasive prostate procedure called Prostate Artery Embolization.

In our next article, we will take a look at the side effects and risks of TURP and compare them to that of Prostate Artery Embolization.

Categories
Enlarged Prostate

What is TURP?

Transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) was the main treatment method for benign prostate hyperplasia for almost 100 years.

Over the past few weeks, we have taken a look at the history regarding the diagnosis and treatment of an enlarged prostate.

We started the series by covering the doctors and anatomists of the late 16th century who contributed to the identification of the prostate itself and the condition of an enlarged prostate.

We also took a look at some of the early attempts at treating the enlarged prostate, which involved a lot of trial and error- and there was a lot of error.

However, as we covered throughout the series, through continued research, medical advancements, and time, treatment methods for an enlarged prostate were greatly improved. This is all thanks to the many physicians that paved the way for successful prostate treatment through medical innovations in not only the methods of surgical procedures, but the tools used as well.

These tools, some of which are still used today, led to safer and more effective ways to treat an enlarged prostate.

All of this research and development, trial and error, invention, and innovation, led to a prostate procedure that became the gold standard for treating an enlarged prostate for many years. This procedure, which is still done today, is known as Transurethral Resection of the Prostate, also known by the acronym TURP.

Transurethral resection of the prostate was the main treatment method for benign prostate hyperplasia from the early 1900s, to the late 1990s.

In our next article, we will take a further look at the Transurethral Resection of the Prostate.

We will cover what it is, how it’s performed, and its effect on relieving the symptoms of an enlarged prostate.

We will also look at the side effects and risks of this procedure, and compare it to that of the non-invasive and increasingly popular treatment for BPH called Prostate Artery Embolization.

Categories
Enlarged Prostate

Development of Surgical Tools

Technology led to the creation of non-invasive BPH procedures such as prostate artery embolization. But before that, there were new tools.

Long before the development of the technology that led to the creation of non-invasive procedures to treat benign prostate hyperplasia, the major medical advancements were the creation of new surgical tools. And, a real game changer was the creation of the resectoscope.

The resectoscope was introduced in the late 1920s by Maximilian Stern. Stern was able to utilize the direct vision made available by inserting the tool, which had a tungsten wire loop on one end into the cystoscope. He then used an electrical cutting current in order to use the loop to successfully cut away excess prostate tissue.

As with all great inventions, the resectoscope left room for further innovation, such as a modified version by Theodore Davis, which had a larger viewing area and a wider loop, as well as a foot pedal attached to it that allowed him to switch between currents that cut and currents that cauterized.

Further improvements included that of Joseph McCarthy who combined Davis’s improved resectoscope with the phonendoscope- which had an even better viewing system.

By combining these two advancements, McCarthey created what would become known as the Stern-McCarthy resectoscope.

Though it arguably should have been called the Stern-Davis-McCarthy resectoscope, the Stern-McCarthy resectoscope is credited with being the first practical cutting-loop resectoscope, and as a result, transurethral prostatectomy emerged as the dominant method used to treat enlarged prostate for the next 70 years

This method, also known as TURP (Transurethral resection of the prostate ), which is still done today- would not have been possible without all of this innovation.

In fact, it wouldn’t have been possible without many inventions that preceded it. Such as Dr. Young’s cystoscope, as well as the first practical incandescent light bulb, the fenestrated tube, and the application of high-frequency electrical current underwater.

These inventions and surgical procedures led the way to more advanced methods which use fiber optics, video cameras, laser energy, and others.

Though TURP is still used as a treatment procedure for an enlarged prostate, more and more, it is being replaced by newer medical therapies and less invasive procedures such as genicular artery embolization.

In our next article, we will begin to look at the most common present-day surgical and non-invasive surgical procedures to treat an enlarged prostate.