Urology Associates of Denver is the first clinic in Colorado and as one of the few in the U.S. to provide a 1o-minute treatment called Rezūm to its patients. The therapy uses natural energy stored from water vapor to shrink prostate tissue in benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) patients.
“Currently, patients dealing with the extremely bothersome symptoms of BPH are limited to two options: They can take medications that don’t reverse the problem and only help manage it, or they can opt for surgery that includes a potentially long recovery process and subsequent side effects,” Barrett E. Cowan, M.D., said in a press release.
Cowan, of Urology Associates, served as co-lead investigator during clinical trials for Rezūm, offered by NxThera. “I’ve performed about 30 procedures using the Rezūm therapy and I can confidently say that it is a game-changer for millions of men who suffer from the debilitating symptoms of BPH.”
BPH can be significantly life-changing, with disruptive symptoms such as frequent urges to urinate, regardless of the time of the day, and difficulty urinating that can be painful. These symptoms can lead to considerable psychological distress.
Cowan agrees that Rezūm therapy increases the range of options so far offered to men, as this is a non-surgical, non-medical option that has shown to be effective and safe. The treatment has been done in-office and takes 5 to 10 minutes to complete. Unlike other surgical options for BPH, Rezūm therapy does not require anasthetics.
During the procedure, the urologist inserts a small narrow device through the urethra to deliver water vapor directly into the enlarged prostate tissue. Thermal energy is released upon direct contact with the tissue, killing the affected cells. This reduction in size relieves most of BPH’s main symptoms. Eventually the body’s immune system absorbs the Rezūm-altered tissue with no adverse effects reported after the procedure.
“My patient who struggled with frequent urinary urges and failed to get an adequate amount of sleep during the night due to his BPH reported that after Rezūm therapy, all of his symptoms subsided,” reported Cowan, recalling his 74-year-old patient, Ken Whiteacre, from Littleton, Colorado.
“[Whiteacre] was very averse to having surgery and didn’t want to take a pill every day for the rest of his life. Rezūm has been a life-changing option for him,” Cowan said.