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Urologists When urinating becomes painful agony
About every second man over the age of 50 has an enlarged prostate. Sufferers usually have - often very violent - urinary symptoms. Remedy can sometimes provide an operative treatment. Experts have recently developed a particularly gentle process.
Every second man suffers from prostate enlargement
In Germany, every second man over 50 and almost every over 80 years suffers from prostate enlargement. "Proximity to the urethra can lead to constrictions - combined with different urinary problems," Dr. Reinhold Schaefer, urologist and medical director of the medical network Uro-GmbH Nordrhein, in an interview. About one in five sufferers have to undergo treatment. A particularly gentle procedure was recently developed at the University Hospital Freiburg.
Every second man over the age of 50 suffers from prostate enlargement. About one in five sufferers have to undergo treatment. Experts have recently developed a particularly gentle process.(Image: horizont21 / fotolia.com)
When men have to go to the bathroom all the time
The prostate, also called prostate gland, lies just below the bladder and surrounds the urethra. It is significantly involved in the formation of seminal fluid. If the prostate is enlarged, press on the urethra and bladder.
The consequences: urinating is difficult and despite frequent passages to the toilet sometimes the impression remains that the bladder is never really empty.
The urinary stream is usually weak, it comes to Nachtröpfeln or sudden strong urinary urgency.
Also urinary tract infections can occur.
Enlarged prostate does not always cause problems
In the case of prostate problems, the general rule is that you should turn to a specialist in urology for more severe and persistent symptoms.
"Depending on the severity of the symptoms, other illnesses and patient wishes, drug or surgical therapies are used. Often, however, an enlarged prostate does not cause any problems. " Shepherd.
"If surgery is required, symptoms will be significantly reduced in most patients."
Particularly gentle process developed
Surgeons often use endoscopic procedures and increasingly laser techniques in surgery. A particularly gentle procedure was developed at the University Hospital Freiburg.
According to a communication from the clinic, one of the most modern methods is the further development of Professor Dr. med. Arkadiusz Miernik from the Department of Urology of the University Hospital Freiburg, now even safer.
"The procedure we perform takes half as long as the standard prostate reduction method, and complications such as rebleeding tend to be less common than other surgical procedures to correct prostate enlargement," said Professor Miernik.
Time of treatment depends solely on the patient
The urologists at the University Medical Center Freiburg rely on the "Holmium Laser Enucleation of the Prostate", or HoLEP for short. Under general anesthesia, a laser system is advanced across the urethra to the prostate.
In classic HoLEP, the tissue is then laser cut into mostly three pieces, which are removed via the urethra. But due to the complex surgical technique and handling, the procedure is difficult to learn. As a result, there is the residual risk of complications.
Thanks to a further development of the method by Professor Miernik, this risk can be further minimized. Instead of several parts, the prostate is detached from the surrounding tissue in one piece.
The optimized technique has been offered at the University Hospital Freiburg for over a year to all patients with a benign enlarged prostate. The right time for surgical treatment is very individual.
According to Professor Miernik, it should take place when the person suffering from the symptoms suffers greatly and "no other therapy is possible".
Long-term symptom-free
As stated in the communication, a benign prostate enlargement has been treated since the 1950s, initially in an open surgery. The advances in surgical technique are enormous.
"One patient had to stay in hospital for two weeks after the operation 30 years ago, and the complications were not negligible. If the son of this patient were treated today, he can usually leave the hospital after two to three days and is probably symptom free in the long term, "says Professor Miernik. (Ad)