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Prostate Enlargement

Prostate Enlargement: Which Treatment Option Is Right For Me?

Last updated on:
23/04/2012

The right treatment depends on the severity of a man's symptoms.

If Your Symptoms Are Mild

Individuals with mild symptoms of BPH usually elect "watchful waiting," which is careful monitoring without active treatment. About a third of all patients with mild symptoms improve on their own, without any other treatment, when followed with the watchful waiting option.

If Your Symptoms Are Moderate To Severe

Depending on how the symptoms are affecting quality of life, men with moderate symptoms may:

  • Elect watchful waiting
  • Opt for medical treatment with an alpha blocker or enzyme blocker
  • If possible, select a minimally-invasive surgical procedure such as balloon urethroplasty, TURP, or TUIP
  • Require open surgery because of need, as determined by the surgeon in consultation with the individual

Who May Need Surgery?

A man may be a candidate for surgery if he has any of the following significant complications:

  • Inability to urinate because of an enlarged prostate gland
  • Recurring urinary tract infections
  • Noticeable blood in the urine, either persistent over time or reappearing from time to time
  • The presence of bladder stones because of stagnating urine
  • A condition called renal or kidney insufficiency, which occurs when an inability to urinate causes the concentration of potentially toxic urea in the bloodstream, resulting in a poisoning of the body
  • Backward pressure of the urine on the kidneys causes them to swell

Nice To Know:

Will my symptoms get worse if I decide not to undergo treatment?

Because BPH may clear up spontaneously, selecting the option of "watchful waiting," in which there is careful monitoring without active treatment, is a prudent course of action for men with mild-to-moderate symptoms, unless there are complications.

When to receive treatment is usually a quality-of-life issue. If the symptoms interfere sufficiently with sleep, work, and social activities, and place undue stresses on your life, treatment is recommended.

 
 

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From Andrew Maynard - Chair of the University of Michigan Department of Environmental Health Sciences, with help from David Faulkner - 2013 Master of Public Health graduate.