Treatment Options For BPH

The enlarged prostate presses on and blocks the urethra, causing bothersome urinary symptoms like urgent need to urinate, difficulty starting your urine stream, need to push or strain when urinating, dribbling, incomplete emptying, weak urine flow, increased frequency of urination, burning or pain during urination, and frequent nighttime urination.^1,2 Luckily, there are treatment options that can help.

Most men living with enlarged prostate (BPH) symptoms take prescription medications after they’re diagnosed, although these often don’t provide adequate relief and may cause dizziness, fatigue, and sexual dysfunction.³ Medications may not need to be a lifelong burden, however, and men don’t need to wait until surgery is required to address the problem. In fact, they may be able to avoid traditional surgery altogether.

Least Invasive Treatments Treatment options that are not tissue destructive

Watchful Waiting

When symptoms are mild or non-bothersome, your doctor may just monitor your condition and ask you to track your symptoms before deciding if any treatment is necessary. As your BPH condition progresses, if left untreated, it can lead to permanent bladder damage.³

Medications

There is no pharmacological cure for BPH but your doctor may prescribe medications to manage your symptoms. These medications include alpha blockers which relax the muscles around the neck of your bladder, making it easier to urinate, and alpha reductase inhibitors which act to shrink the prostate. While medications can be helpful in relieving symptoms for some men, medications must be continued to maintain the effects.

An issue with prescriptions is their effectiveness may be inadequate and they may cause dizziness, fatigue, and sexual dysfunction.³ These, along with other side effects, are an unnecessary burden and can make men feel older than their age.

UroLift® System Treatment

The UroLift System is a proven option for patients looking for an alternative to drugs or major surgery. The UroLift System treatment is often performed in an ambulatory setting using implants to hold open the obstructed pathway that’s blocking urine flow, addressing the blockage, not just continuously treating enlarged prostate (BPH) symptoms.

The UroLift treatment does not require cutting, heating, removal, or destruction of the tissue.^3-8 Most patients typically do not require ongoing BPH medications.⁹ The UroLift System offers a proven treatment with minimal risk of side effects while preserving sexual function⁹*. The goal of the UroLift System treatment is to relieve symptoms so you can get back to your life and resume your daily activities. The UroLift System has the lowest catheter rate of the leading BPH procedures.^6,9-13 The majority of patients return home on the same day without a catheter following their treatment. ^4,5

Most common side effects are temporary and include pain or burning with urination, blood in the urine, pelvic pain, urgent need to urinate and/or the inability to control the urge. Rare side effects, including bleeding and infection, may lead to a serious outcome and may require intervention.⁴

Learn more about how the UroLift System treatment works or visit our FAQ page for more information on the benefits, risks, and recovery.

*No new onset, sustained erectile or ejaculatory dysfunction.
Ejaculatory dysfunction in the LIFT pivotal study

Moderately Invasive Treatments Treatments that involve tissue destruction with heat or steam

Thermotherapies

Thermotherapies are moderately invasive treatments applying heat energy such as microwave, radiofrequency or steam/water vapor directly to prostate tissue. Less invasive than TURP (see below), these treatments are generally safe, can be performed under local anesthesia. Applying high heat to the prostate can cause tissue swelling and urinary symptoms during the healing period. There is also an incidence of erectile and ejaculatory dysfunction with thermotherapy procedures.³ Patients often need to have a catheter inserted into their bladder during the recovery period.

Laser

Prostate laser surgery uses concentrated high powered laser light to generate precise and intense heat to remove excess tissue that may be preventing urine flow. Laser therapy lessens the bleeding risks of traditional TURP. However, since prostate tissue is still removed, there can be tissue swelling. Typically, a catheter has to be inserted into the bladder after the procedure. The most prevalent laser procedures are called photoselective vaporization of the prostate (PVP) or holmium laser enucleation (HOLEP).³

Most Invasive Treatments Treatments that involve removal of prostate tissue

Surgery

During the Transurethral Resection of the Prostate (TURP) procedure, patients undergo general anesthesia, and prostate tissue is removed by cutting. After prostate tissue has been removed, patients may have a recovery period that includes short-term problems such as bleeding, infection, erectile dysfunction, and urinary incontinence³. Patients will require a catheter that is inserted into their bladder for several days after the procedure. Symptom relief may not occur immediately, but for some patients it provides the most symptom relief of any procedure and lasts a long time. There can be long-term side effects after TURP such as dry orgasm (retrograde ejaculation), erectile dysfunction or incontinence (leaking of urine).³

Find Your BPH Score

The International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) is a method used to screen for and diagnose benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). The survey asks seven urinary symptom questions and one quality of life question to help determine the severity of your BPH.