Prostate Surgery
Prostate surgery may become necessary if the patient presents incontinence (involuntary release of urine), blood in the urine, retention of urine or recurring urinary tract infections.
The following prostate surgery procedures are commonly employed:
(a) Trans-Urethral Incision of the Prostate (TUIP) In this prostate surgery, a few cuts are made in the bladder neck and the prostate gland through the urethra, thus widening it. In this procedure, no tissue is removed from the prostate or the bladder. TUIP is believed to prevent retrograde ejaculation (a disorder in which the semen is expelled into the bladder) that is sometimes a by-product of prostate removal.
Prostate Surgery
(b) Trans-Urethral Resection of the Prostate (TURP): This is a widely used prostate surgery in which a resectoscope
in inserted via the urethral opening of the penis and guided to the area of constriction. A wire loop, which is a part
of the resectoscope is used to cut the tissue surrounding the urethra. The blood vessels in the area are cauterized
while a controlled water jet is used to flush the cut pieces of the prostate tissue into the bladder from where it is
excreted.
(c) Open Prostatectomy: This prostate surgery involves the surgical excision of the entire prostate or a portion of it. This is used when it is not possible to use a trans-urethral procedure usually because the prostate is very enlarged or if the bladder wall has been damaged and will require to be repaired.
There are some other procedures for prostate surgery that are available:
Photoselective Vaporization This procedure is quite similar to TURP except that it uses a laser instead of an electrical current which the latter uses. And photoselective vaporization is better for smaller prostates since it results in less bleeding and shorter time for recovery.
Another form of prostate surgery involves the implantation of prostatic stents.
Transurethral microwave thermotherapy (TUMT) is one more procedure for prostate surgery and is minimally invasive. It uses microwaves to produce localized heating in the targeted tissues.