Prostate enlargement, symptoms, and treatment.
Symptoms of enlarged prostate.
Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) affects approximately 60% of men at the age of 60, and almost 90% at the age of 90.
As the prostate gland enlarges, it can compress the urethra, leading to various symptoms such as difficulty urinating, hesitancy, frequent urination, nocturia (waking up multiple times at night to urinate), or sometimes even urinary retention. To simplify, think of the prostate as a donut with a hole in the middle acting as the urethra. When the prostate enlarges, the hole (urethra) in the donut (prostate) becomes smaller, causing urinary symptoms.
How to treat an enlarged prostate
The conventional treatments for BPH have typically involved medication therapy or surgical procedures like transurethral resection of the prostate (TUR-P), which involves surgically removing prostate tissue through the urethra. When referring to a doughnut, it’s like inserting a scope to widen the central hole. However, after surgery, patients often experience side effects such as retrograde ejaculation, where semen flows backward into the bladder instead of out through the urethra during ejaculation, leading many men to dislike this treatment approach.
REZUM (Water Vaopor Theraphy)Treating prostate enlargement with water vapor.
Currently, there is a new treatment called Rezum (Water Vapor Therapy) for treating prostate enlargement by using steam. This treatment involves inserting a camera into the prostate and using small needles to inject high-temperature steam, up to 103 degrees Celsius, into the prostate tissue.
In this process, the doctor will use nerve-calming medication, painkillers, or local anesthetics. These medications will help the steam to spread among the cells of the prostate, causing the cells that block the urinary tract to die off.
And the body will naturally eliminate the dead cells. Eventually, the prostate gland will shrink in size, and the urinary tract will widen, allowing for normal urination. The treatment process takes only 10-15 minutes, and patients can return home the same day without the need to stay overnight at the hospital.
Benefits of treating with the Rezum method:
- Long-lasting results: Currently, after a 5-year follow-up period, the majority of patients only require a single treatment session, with results monitored every 2-5 years.
- Improvement in urine flow by 44%.
- Reduction in the risk of erectile dysfunction.
- No reports of sexual dysfunction.
- Normal ejaculation can be maintained.
When patients come for consultation, the physician will conduct an assessment, physical examination, and determine whether the patient is suitable for treatment with the Rezum method or not.
Most patients are satisfied with this new treatment. The important thing is to select suitable patients. So, if you start experiencing these symptoms or are already taking medication for an enlarged prostate and prefer not to continue, feel free to come for a consultation to discuss treatment options.
