The best treatment for enlarged prostate

The search for effective treatments for enlarged prostate with its bothersome lower urinary tract symptoms has led to significant medical advances.

A new study on Research Square has just compared two of the most common treatments to see which worked best.

TURP (transurethral resection of the prostate) is the surgical gold standard for enlarged prostate. Doctors insert a scope through the urethra (the tube that carries urine from the bladder out of the body) to cut away the excess prostate tissue. It is performed under general anesthesia.

But in recent years, another treatment called Rezum has become popular. It is a newer, minimally invasive treatment that uses water vapor to create heat and destroy the excess tissue. It can be performed under general or local anesthesia, and is usually performed on an outpatient basis.

The new study conducted at the West China Fourth Hospital recruited 40 patients diagnosed with enlarged prostate. They were divided equally between those undergoing TURP and those treated with Rezum.

All participants were older than 45, had an International Prostate Symptom Score greater than 13, and a Quality of Life score above 3. Those with other significant health issues or a history of prostate surgery were excluded.

The scientists followed these patients for a year, collecting data on their recovery and the effectiveness of the treatments.

The study reported significant findings:

1. The International Prostate Symptom Scores decreased by 57.35% in the TURP group and 61.50% in the Rezum group.

2. Quality of Life scores dropped by 63.12% and 63.92% in the Turp and Rezum groups, respectively.

These results show that the two treatments are approximately equally effective. However, the study highlighted several advantages of Rezum over TURP.

1. Rezum patients experienced shorter operations (around 11 minutes compared to 81 minutes for TURP), less blood loss during treatment, and shorter hospital stays.

2. Three days after the surgery, the Rezum group reported lower pain levels and a shorter duration of hematuria (blood in urine), indicating a quicker recovery period.

This is pretty good news. It means that men whose symptoms are so severe that herbs and other natural treatments don’t work have another option short of significant surgery. Since Rezum uses steam rather than a cutting tool, it doesn’t seem quite as scary.

Fortunately, you don’t need either of these invasive operations. Thousands of men have already shrunk their prostate using the simple lifestyle changes explained here…