NeoTract’s UroLift system for patients with benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) was featured in a recent training event of the American Urological Association (AUA) at the AUA headquarters in Linthicum, Maryland.

The UroLift system is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and by the regulatory agencies of the European Union, Australia, and Canada for the treatment of lower urinary tract symptoms due to BPH.

The system’s permanent implants are delivered during a minimally invasive transurethral outpatient procedure to relieve prostate obstruction and open the urethra directly without cutting, heating or removing prostate tissue.

The event included a presentation by Gregg R. Eure, MD, to deliver an overview of the economics of BPH, and a training session co-led by Eure, Lori B. Lerner, MD, and Jaspreet S. Sandhu, MD.

The simulator training session with UroLift was conducted for 25 East Coast urology residents.

“Training the next generation of urologists on the benefits and use of the UroLift System is a great honor,” Eure said in a press release. “I have been treating BPH patients with the UroLift System since March 2015, and have been impressed with the rapid improvement in symptoms and quality of life that has been demonstrated consistently with my own patients and in rigorous clinical studies showing sustained benefits out to four years.”

Dave Amerson, president and CEO of NeoTract, said the UroLift System’s inclusion in this AUA training event “validates the treatment’s place as an important option for patients with BPH.

“We are excited that enthusiasm about the UroLift System continues to grow amongst both established and new urologists across the United States,” he said.

According to the press release, 37 million men are estimated to be affected by BPH in the U.S. BPH develops when the prostate gland surrounding the male urethra obstructs the urinary flow due to its enlargement. There is medication for BPH, but the side effects, which may include sexual dysfunction, among other effects, cause many patients to stop taking the medicine.

Eure is a fellow member of the American College of Surgeons (FACS) of Urology at Virginia and Eastern Virginia Medical School. Lerner is a physician at at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Plymouth and Sandhu is a doctor at Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York.