More than half of all men over the age of 60 and more than 26 million men in the United States annually are affected by an enlarged prostate. Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia’s (BPH) symptoms such as frequent urination, especially at night, pain or burning during urination and weak urine flow can have a drastic effect on the person’s quality of life. Day-to-day activities are interrupted by constant trips to the bathroom and a full night’s sleep is out of the question.
A course of treatment for this condition is typically a lifetime of costly medications with possible side effects that can stop working over time or an invasive surgical procedure to reduce the size of the prostate. Surgical options require a two to three day stay in the hospital and four to six weeks to recover with possible side effects of impotence and incontinence.
With the addition of GreenLight laser therapy, Brookdale’s Department of Urology now offers an alternative to the invasive procedure used to re sect the prostate. GreenLight ttherapy is a quick, minimally invasive procedure that provides dramatic and immediate results. Laser energy is used to open the channel for normal urine flow by removing tissue from the enlarged prostate with minimal blood loss. The patient may even be discharged home without a foley catheter. Worldwide, over 375,000 procedures have successfully been performed. The procedure is done on a ambulatory basis and, in most cases, the patient is discharged a few hours after the procedure and within a few days can return to non-strenuous activities.
“The majority of our patients who have been treated with GreenLight laser therapy feel that they have been as given a new lease on life and they can go back to enjoying activities that they used to before their prostate problems began,” said Dr. Frederick Gulmi, Chairman of Brookdale’s Department of Urology.
