Prostate Laser Surgery: Treatment, Procedure, Cost and Side Effects

Many men suffer from urinary problems, which can interfere with their daily lives. While medications and exercises can help relieve some of these symptoms, they may not be able to cure them. In such cases, surgeries may be required and one such surgery is prostate laser surgery. This surgery can help provide relief from moderate to severe urinary symptoms that have been caused by an enlarged prostate in men. This surgery makes use of laser in order to correct the problem. There are quite a few different types of prostate laser surgery and each of them employ slightly different processes to achieve the same purpose. The different kinds are photoselective vaporization of the prostate (PVP), Holmium laser enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP) and Holmium laser ablation of the prostate (HoLAP). The doctor will decide which of these surgeries will prove to be the best option for the patient depending on his symptoms as well as other factors, which are size of the patient's prostate, his health, the kind of laser equipment the hospital has and the training of the doctor.

Before the surgeon performs this operation, the patient will be given general anesthesia or spinal anesthesia so as to numb the area and sedate the patient. Next, the surgeon will insert a scope up and through the tip of the patient's penis into the urethra, which is responsible for the carrying of urine from the bladder of a man. This is done as the urthera is surrounded by the prostate and hence serves as a vital point of entry. Next, the laser is passed through the inserted scope and is used to create intense heat and energy, which consequently shrinks or eliminates the build up of excess tissue in and around the prostate. These excess tissues are what obstruct the flow of urine. This is the general procedure and details may vary according the type of performed. In a photoselective vaporization of the prostate, the laser is used to vaprorize the excess amounts of the tissues found on the prostate of the patient. They are also used to make the urninary channel larger. In a holmium laser enucleation of the prostate, the purpose of the laser is to cut and eliminate the excess tissue buildup that is repsonsible for blocking the urethra. Lastly, in a holmium laser ablation of the prostate, the procedure is carried out the same way as in a photoselective vaporization with the difference being that another type of laser is used.

Men who have an enlarged prostate and suffer from urinary problems because of it or have benign prostatic hyperplasia are eligible for this surgery. Also men who havr damaged kidneys or bladder or have bladder stones can also go for this surgery.

Men who have prostate cancer may not be eligible for this surgery.

The prostate laser surgery does come with side effects, which include blood in the urine, inabilty to hold the urine for long, frequent urination and burning sensation at the tip of the penis. These side effects will disappear with time.

After a prostate laser surgery, patients will have to diligently follow the guidelines laid down by the doctor. These guidelines generally include avoiding strenous actitivities and avoiding the lifting of heavy objects for at least till two weeks after the surgery. Holding off on sex for at least a week or two is also advised as ejaculation can cause bleeding and pain. Besides, men who have undergone the surgery should take the prescribed medicines regularly.

Recovery from this surgery will take about 2-3 weeks. However, it may take a few months for all of the side effects of the surgery to disappear.

The cost of prostate laser surgery in the country starts from around Rs. 38,000 and go as high as up to Rs. 2 lakhs. This is of course a variable and dependent on the city and the hospital one is in.

The results are not exactly permanent. In some cases, this surgery might not be able to remove all of the excess tissue build-up in and around the prostate or there might be a relapse for which further treatment maybe required.

Quite a few alternatives to prostate laser surgery exist. These include transurethral resection of the prostate or TURP, thermotherapy and GreenLight PVP laser. All of these are surgical procedures,