Saturday 10 November 2007

New Techniques In Prostate Surgery


Most men will run a mile from a urologist - me included ! The greatest fear men have when they come up against a prostate problem is that they will remain impotent.

There is good news , however. The latest techniques in prostate surgery mean that they are less invasive and the risk of impotence and incontinence is much reduced. More and more men now have children at a later age . The main reason why the prostate grows is because there are hormonal changes which take place as we get older and this results in an enlarged prostate.
Green light laser surgery is now a well established technique. This selects the tissue to be removed and saves the healthier tissues including the nerves. A spinal anesthetic is used and it only requires an overnight stay in hospital. There is no bleeding, and the risk of retrograde ejaculation is reduced by 50%.

In cases where there is a swollen prostate, due to a chronic prostatitis, for which there is no known explanation and which antibiotics do not work efficiently, the patient may well be advised to opt for thermoablation by radio frequency. The heat destroys the nerves causing the pain and discomfort while preserving the sexual function of the patient.

In cases where there is a tumour of the prostate, the new technique HIFU ( high intensity focus ultrasound) can be carried out. Already in Europe alone, there have been 12,000 operations using this technique which consists of bombarding the cancerous tissues with ultrasound waves.
In 80% of the operations, the tumour is eliminated and does not case sexual impotence. No blood vessels are cut open thereby practically eliminating the risk of metastasis.

Scared of surgery ? Herbal remedies are a valid alternative.

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