Holmium Laser for Benign Prostatic Enlargement
Email Raji.Kooner@svha.org.au or call 02 8382 6980 for a confidential appointment.
Here at the Sydney Prostate Centre, we are passionate about Holmium Laser treatment for BPH (Benign Prostatic Hypertrophy).
I believe that it offers significant advantages to a standard prostate resection.
What we do is we put a telescope in through the eye of the penis.
We have a laser fibre that is inserted through the resectoscope.
The laser then works on the prostate and it cuts and seals at the same time.
It also uses saline for irrigation, the same thing we put in a drip, so if that absorbs into the system, there’s no issue as opposed to a standard TURP (Transurethral Resection of the Prostate).
The Holmium Laser also cuts at the plane between the adenoma – the abnormal growing, central part of the prostate – and the capsule, so we get a wide clearance when we resect this.
This tissue is then removed piecemeal through the bladder and through the urethra, so there’s no incision.
I’ve been doing the Holmium Laser now for approximately twelve years, and I’ve been extremely happy with the clinical outcomes.
There are multiple, randomised trials now, to show that the Holmium Laser is superior to a standard Transurethral Resection of the Prostate.
There is less bleeding, quicker recovery, shorter catheterisation and fewer complications. I believe this is now the platinum standard for BPH, and this technique will be increasingly used throughout the world and Australia.
The main stumbling block is a steep learning curve, and the cost of the laser.
Once an institution supports their doctors with the purchase of the laser, and surgeons are committed to this technology, I’m certain this will replace the standard TURP as the gold standard.