The NHS has presented a new breakthrough procedure using steam that shrinks the enlarged prostate gland, making the treatment of benign prostate enlargement less invasive.
The procedure to treat benign prostate enlargement is done under local anaesthetic without an overnight hospital stay and is minimally invasive.
Two million men in Britain have been diagnosed with an enlarged prostate. With this new treatment, symptoms of enlarged prostrates can be reduced.
What does the procedure involve?
The treatment comprises passing a small probe up the urethra to inject a puff of steam into the troublesome area.
This steam then kills off some of the enlarged tissue to ease symptoms and the dead cells are then reabsorbed by the body.
As explained on the NHS website, benign prostate enlargement (BPE) is essentially a medical term used to describe a condition that can affect the way in which urine is passed.
The condition forces the urethra (urine tube) to narrow, causing a variety of problems, including difficulty emptying the bladder.
An enlarged prostate is common – affecting one in three men over the age of 50.
It is not prostate cancer and it isn’t usually a serious threat to health.
Men need more treatment options
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) say that men should be offered other treatment options and this new steam treatment is an ideal alternative to invasive surgery.
This treatment, known as Rezum, is said to have fewer side effects such as impotence and incontinence.
Professor Richard Hindley, a consultant urologist at Hampshire Hospitals, has been providing the treatment to some of his patients, with “very good results”.
“The treatment involves a tiny water droplet being heated to 103C and then injected via the urethra into the prostate,” says Hindley in an article on the BBC.
“It can be performed quickly, with each procedure taking less than 20 minutes.
“The number of injections required is titrated according to the size of the gland.”
