St. Jude Medical Center urologists are among the first in their Southern California region to now offer UroLift, a minimally invasive treatment to correct low or blocked urine flow due to benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), also known as enlarged prostate.
Most men with BPH-related urinary symptoms are good candidates for UroLift, including those who are already taking BPH medications and want to treat their symptoms instead of managing them. Over 50 percent of all men around age 60 — and nearly 90 percent of men in their 70s and 80s — report suffering from symptoms that can be linked to BPH, including frequent urination with hesitant or interrupted stream, as well as urinary urgency or leaking.
“If your life is being interrupted by the effects of an enlarged prostate, you now have a great new treatment option,” Dr. Eric Tygenhof said in a press release. “Rather than having to wait several months for improvement as with other types of therapies, men of all ages are seeing an immediate difference in their symptoms.”
UroLift works by pulling back the prostate tissue that pressures the urethra with small permanent stents (not unlike curtain tie-backs), offering an effective, minimally invasive procedure that preserves sexual function.
“Men often blame their urinary symptoms on aging and never discuss them with their doctor, while others consider treatment but reject it out of concern over side effects such as sexual dysfunction or incontinence,” added Dr. Michael Gazzaniga. “This 15-minute procedure offers a safe and effective solution, without the side effects of traditional therapies.”
UroLift was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2013 as a high-quality treatment alternative to drug therapies or more invasive surgery procedures. UroLift requires no hospitalization time, and patients often can go home within hours of the procedure, and return to their normal routines within one to two days.
“This simple, outpatient procedure allows men to recover very quickly while offering rapid, meaningful relief from their symptoms,” said Dr. Alan Weinberg. “For men who want to avoid a lifetime of medications or surgery, this procedure is an important breakthrough.”
St. Jude Medical Center is a 320-bed hospital serving Southern California.