Enlarged Prostate, also known as BPH (benign prostatic hyperplasia), affects 50% of men over the age of 50 and up to 90% of men over 80. So if you’re a man over 50 and are fortunate enough to be reading this, we have good news. There’s a new treatment for BPH or enlarged prostate called Rezūm therapy. We’re excited about it because it’s a great alternative to surgery. We’ll break down the details here to give you a better idea of how it works and what to expect. If you’ve been suffering from an enlarged prostate, your medication isn’t working, or the side effects from your medication are interfering with your quality of life, now there’s a better alternative than surgery – Rezūm therapy.
How Does Rezūm Therapy Work?
An enlarged prostate causes urinary problems because it obstructs the urethra which carries the urine from the bladder. Rezūm is a minimally invasive surgical procedure, which uses hot steam to reduce the enlarged part of the prostate responsible for urinary obstruction. Rezūm is done under sedation and requires the placement of a scope into the urethra and bladder. Under direct vision, the surgeon places the small retractable needle on the scope into the enlarged portion of the prostate. This needle is attached to a steam generating unit which sends a few seconds of hot steam into the enlarged nodule. Steam denatures the protein structure of the enlarged prostate causing it to shrink away from the urethra, thus relieving the blockage. The prostate will respond initially with swelling and a temporary catheter will be placed into the bladder to make urination easier while waiting for the prostate tissue to shrink. The patient is discharged to home on the same day as the procedure. The catheter is removed in 3-7 days. For more information, you can watch this video about Rezūm therapy.
The Good News
Rezūm is an outpatient procedure that is safe and effective. It takes just a few minutes in office. This therapy treats the cause, not just the symptoms and it minimizes the negative effect on surrounding tissue so it preserves sexual and urinary functions and you can quickly resume normal activities. Risks are modest but include bleeding or infection in a small number of patients. Rezūm is effective in about 90% of patients.
If you’re tired of living with the symptoms, if your drug therapy is not working, if side effects are impacting your quality of life, or if you don’t want surgery, Rezūm therapy may be the answer. We know no one looks forward to having a medical procedure, but waiting may make it harder to reduce symptoms later, so you’re better off looking into it sooner than later.
If you’d like to learn more about Rezūm therapy, contact one of the 23 KCUC Urology and Oncology locations throughout Kansas and Missouri and schedule an appointment to speak with a urologist. At KCUC, you see the best in KC.