The prostate laser is a widely used tool in Urology. It is a system used to treat benign prostatic adenoma or benign prostate tumor, thus allowing the elimination of this pathology with a minimally invasive procedure.
It is a very comfortable procedure that requires a hospital stay of less than 24 hours. In most cases, there is usually no bleeding, so no blood transfusion is needed.
What is the prostate laser used for?
Prostate laser is not used to treat prostate cancer, but only to treat benign prostatic adenoma, which causes difficulty urinating. In fact, the main disadvantage of a benign prostate tumor is that it hinders the outflow of urine, so that laser intervention is necessary.
In contrast, in the case of cancer, the laser cannot treat the tumor, because it cannot get there.
Symptoms of benign prostate adenoma
Symptoms that may indicate a benign prostate adenoma and may require laser intervention are:
- Very frequent urination
- Difficulty in starting to urinate
- The urine stream is cut off
- Need to go to the bathroom quite frequently, both day and night.
- Feeling that there is not enough urine and that some of it stays in the bladder.
When a person goes to the urologist for any of these symptoms, the specialist proceeds to study the patient and checks if he/she has a benign prostate tumor.
Sexual function
One of the biggest concerns of men who have to undergo prostate laser surgery is sexual function. There is a belief that laser surgery can affect sexual function, but it actually improves it.
The only obvious difference that can occur, and which is quite frequent, is that retrograde ejaculation occurs, i.e. instead of going outside, it goes back into the bladder.
However, this is not a problem, because people who undergo prostate surgery do not usually have any intention of having children, due to their age.
What type of laser is there?
At present, there are two types of laser used for these procedures: Holmium and green laser. Dr. Perez-Castro always works with the green laser, since the Holmium removes the entire adenoma at once, pushing it into the bladder.
The green laser, on the other hand, is an instrument that allows successful interventions that do not present a complicated postoperative period. Only small hemorrhages that can be easily solved or some retentions of a little more than 24 hours, which is the usual time.
On the other hand, as it is an operation that does not hurt, it is not necessary to take painkillers. The results are very beneficial for the patient’s health, because it is possible to achieve a recovery in the difficulty to urinate.
Prior to the use of the laser, there were several procedures to cure benign prostate adenoma, such as transurethral resection, which also made it possible to operate on the prostate without opening the patient.