The prostate is the male sexual organ located at the base of the bladder, surrounding the first part of the urethra.  The urethra is the channel that connects the bladder to the exterior.  The primordial function of the prostate is to produce the seminal fluid that transports the sperm.

Habitually from the age of 50 onwards most males begin to develop benign prostatic hyperplasia (BHP) or benign growth.   In many of them, the prostate grows sufficiently large as to obstruct the urethra and cause difficulty in urinating.

The symptoms of the benign growth tend to be:

• Urinating with frequency, especially at night
• Sudden or urgent need to urinate
• Reduction in the thickness and strength of the urine flow
• Pain or difficulty when urinating
• Sensation of not completely emptying the bladder
• Loss of urine and dripping when urination has finished.
• Delay in the start of urination and interrupted flow
  

Another disorder that originates in the prostate is cancer.  Its incidence increases with age and, unlike BHP, it tends to exhibit few symptoms.  When symptoms caused by the cancer do start to appear, it tends to be too late to cure it, which is why nowadays early detection programmes are in place based on exploration (rectal examination) and determination of the PSA (prostate specific antigen) in the blood.

Photoselective Prostatic Vaporization with High Strenght KTP Green Laser

For many years surgical treatment for the benign growth of the prostate has been open surgery and endoscopic transurethral resection through the urethra.  Despite being widely used and standardised, these techniques can be associated with lengthy hospital stays, and with a high risk of post-operative bleeding and pain.

The selective vaporization of the prostate uses a high strength KTP (Potassium-Titanium-Phosphorous) laser with a specially designed fibre optic for the elimination of prostatic tissue obstructing the urethral light.  The vaporization of the tissue and the photocoagulation of the blood vessels of the prostate in a selective manner, means that this technique does not cause post-operative bleeding or this is kept to a minimum, and therefore the patients stay in the hospital is kept to a few hours.  Similarly, in being a minimally invasive technique, without risk of blood loss, it also ideal for patients who take anticoagulant medication.
This technique permits a speedy return to the everyday life of the patient, with quick relief from the symptoms caused by the growth of the prostate.
The results obtained in the most prestigious hospitals in the world using selective photovaporization with KTP green laser over more than 10 years have made very clear its advantages in comparison to conventional treatment.

In our Service Unit, our experience exceeds 250 cases in 4 years, reproducing the results of the most experienced centres worldwide, and having been named as Training Centre in Green Laser for Prostate on a European level, bearing the responsibility of tutoring the initiation of new centres, both public and private, in the application of this treatment technique for benign prostatic hyperplasia.

The average hospital stay for a transurethral resection of the prostate is 3 to 5 days and for open surgery from 6 to 10 days, while vaporization with laser requires a hospital stay of under 24 hours.

Vaporization with laser provokes minimal or nil bleeding, and therefore blood transfusions are not required, opposed to the 2% to 25% need for a transfusion with conventional techniques.  At the same time, this intervention reduces the postoperative catheterisation to just a few hours, with neither urinary incontinence, impotence nor, rarely, retrograde ejaculation presenting as postoperative sequelae.

It is therefore a very effective, quick and safe procedure for improving the symptoms provoked by the benign growth of the prostate.  The majority of patients will return home a few hours after the intervention and will return to their everyday activities much faster than with any other surgical technique used and with less likelihood of post operative complications.

The development of the new high strength laser enables us to not only reproduce the results achieved with the 80 watt laser, but we have also managed to make the procedure even more effective and safe, extending the procedure to larger sized prostates where only open surgery techniques had been possible,

Comparación entre las técnicas actuales y la Vaporización con láser verde

Link with www.laserscope.com.es/bphtreatment.html

Download informative pamphlet about the prostate