Patients at the Southern California Urology Institute in West Hills, Calif., are now being treated with the UroLift System, according to founder/director Gary Bellman, MD.
UroLift was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2013 and is the first permanent implant to treat symptoms due to urinary outflow obstruction as a consequence of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in men 50 years or older. The UroLift System is designed to help enlarged prostate patients by relieving symptoms and to preserve sexual function.
UroLift System provides an alternative to tissue-removing surgery for the treatment of BPH. Performed through the urethra, Bellman uses the UroLift System to push aside the obstructive prostate lobes and positions small, personalized, permanent UroLift implants to hold the prostate lobes in the retracted position. This opens the urethra while preserving the prostate.
It is estimated more than 500 million aging men worldwide have an enlarged prostate. Medication often is the first therapeutic option, but relief can be insufficient and temporary. Adverse effects of enlarged prostate treatment can include sexual dysfunction, dizziness and headaches, leading many patients to give up on the drugs. For these patients, the standard alternative is surgery that cuts prostate tissue to unblock the urethra.
Current surgeries, like the preferred transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP), deemed the “gold standard” due to its high efficacy in relieving symptoms, also lead to side effects, including urinary incontinence, erectile dysfunction and retrograde ejaculation (dry orgasm).
The most common side effects reported included hematuria (blood in urine), dysuria (painful urination), micturition urgency (frequent or urgent urination), pelvic pain and urge incontinence. Most symptoms were mild-to-moderate and resolved within two or four weeks after the surgery.
“The UroLift System has an excellent safety profile and provides men suffering from BPH a beneficial first-line treatment alternative to drug therapy or more invasive surgery. Importantly, the UroLift System provides fast and meaningful relief from BPH symptoms, improving overall quality of life … Patients recover from the procedure quickly, and return to their normal routines with minimal downtime,” Bellman said in a press release.