The Increasing Popularity of HoLEP as a Treatment Technique for Prostate Enlargement
Evolution might have tinkered and tampered on the human body to make it more adaptable to the changing conditions of Mother Earth, for if you would look at the intricacies of the human body, you would readily see that each part seems to be perfectly configured in such a way that each part of the human body appears to be perfectly situated in the right place and at the right time. Hence, any dislocation, aberration, or hypertrophy in the size, location, and features of any tissue or organ of the body will definitely cause concomitant sensations and symptoms that would be felt by the person who owns the body. This is very obvious in some of the major diseases experienced by humanity such as in the case of malignant cancerous cells, hernia, or even the distension or enlargement of the prostate glands. And speaking of the enlargement of prostate, this disease which is commonly called benign prostatic hyperplasia is one of the most common diseases that afflicts the male human species.
Understanding Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia
Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is usually considered a non-cancerous disease of the prostate. BPH involves the increase in the quantity of organic tissues within the prostate glands that usually leads to an inordinate increase in the number of cells within that organ. This inordinate increase in the number of cells within the prostate glands usually leads to the enlargement of the prostate glands. BPH is not an increase in the sizes of the cells, otherwise, the disease will be called benign prostatic hypertrophy, hypertrophy—being the increase in the sizes of the cells. As said earlier, it is an increase in the number of cells—the cells being still of normal sizes.
The enlargement of the prostate will not be dangerous had the prostate not been located around the urethra or the urinary tract. Since the prostate partly encompasses the urethra, any enlargement of the prostate will have an adverse effect on the size and functionality of the urethra, and may eventually lead to the obstruction in the flow of urine. Once the obstruction of the urinary tract becomes symptomatic, then the problem begins for the person, for with a highly obstructed urinary tract, infections of the urethra and difficulty in voiding may ensue. Hence, often there is a need to remedy this situation.
The Available Therapies for BPH
The initial treatment for BPH includes the use of alpha blockers to relax the tense smooth muscles along of the bladder and the prostate. The use likewise of 5a-Reductase inhibitors can help stave off the enlargement of the prostate. Self-catheterization can also be of great help. However, in extreme cases of BPH, an invasive surgery such as that of Prostate Enucleation is usually performed to remove parts of the prostate or the whole of prostate.
There are many other surgical techniques employed to remedy the enlargement of the prostate, and some of these techniques include open prostatectomy, transurethral incision of the prostate (TUIP), Transurethral resection of the Prostate (TURP), Photo-selective vaporization of the prostate (PVP), Transurethral microwave therapy (TUMT), Transurethral needle ablation (TUNA) which is proven to be less effective, and Holmium laser enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP). HoLEP is increasingly becoming the treatment of choice of most patients and medical surgeons nowadays.