Enlarged Prostate / BPH Treatment Info from Laserscope

Treating BPH

When symptoms begin to interfere with your lifestyle, it's time to consider treatment choices. Understanding your options, including the effectiveness of each treatment and the level of risk involved, will help you make the right choice for your desired outcome and lifestyle needs. Discuss this information with your urologist.

GreenLight PVP

Before the GreenLight PVP Laser Procedure, patients were forced to choose between an effective yet invasive surgery and heat therapies that were safer but less effective.

The GreenLight PVP Laser Procedure (Photoselective Vaporization of the Prostate) offers a unique and simple solution to BPH because it combines the effectiveness of TURP, the surgical "gold standard" with the safety, comfort and ease of a minimally invasive treatment.

The GreenLight PVP Laser Procedure uses a very high powered laser to immediately vaporize and precisely remove enlarged prostate tissue.

Most patients return home a few short hours after the procedure and can return to normal, non-strenuous activities within days. GreenLight PVP delivers the ultimate BPH solution - free from urinary symptoms, free from compromise, free to go!

Require Compromise

Medication

Medical therapy is usually the first line of defense against enlarged prostate symptoms. Medications are costly, must be taken every day for the rest of your life. Over time, medication may stop working. Side effects can include impotence, dizziness, headaches, fatigue and loss of sexual drive.

Heat Therapies

Heat or thermal therapies rely on different energy sources to heat and destroy prostate tissue. The destroyed tissue remains in the prostate and becomes scar tissue. This results in an incomplete reduction of tissue and prostate swelling that causes increased urinary symptoms for several weeks to months. You may need to wear a catheter for a few days or several weeks.

Common heat treatments include:
transurethral microwave thermal therapy(TUMT), transurethral needle ablation(TUNA®) and interstitial laser coagulation(ILC). These treatments are not always effective in relieving urinary symptoms or restoring good urine flow, and symptoms may return after a year or two. GreenLight PVP procedures have been successfully performed on thousands of patients with long-lasting results.

Side effects of heat therapies may include pain and irritation during urination, urinary tract infections, incontinence, urinary retention, impotence and retrograde ejaculation.

Invasive Surgery

Transurethral Resection of the Prostate (TURP) is known as the "gold standard" of treatment. Enlarged prostate tissue is removed surgically resulting in symptom relief and restored urine flow.

TURP is an invasive surgical procedure. There is a greater risk of complications, including excessive blood loss, blood transfusion, incontinence, impotence, infection, painful urination and a high rate of retrograde ejaculation. TURP requires a 1-4 day hospital stay and 1-3 days wearing a catheter. Recovery time averages 4-6 weeks.

Older Laser Technologies

Older laser technologies attempt to treat enlarged prostate. These lasers use heat to destroy but not remove tissue. The destroyed tissue is left in the body and is expelled over time, causing urinary pain and discomfort for several weeks. Only Laserscope's GreenLight PV™ Laser System uses a patented green light laser to vaporize and remove tissue, leaving a wide open channel
for urine to pass through. Results and relief are rapid. Recovery is quick and comfortable. Ask for the GreenLight PVP Laser Procedure.