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Definition
By Mayo Clinic staffInterstitial laser therapy is an inpatient procedure to treat urinary symptoms caused by an enlarged prostate. Also called interstitial laser coagulation (ILC), interstitial laser therapy heats and destroys overgrown prostate tissue.
During the interstitial laser therapy, laser energy is directed at the enlarged prostate with a fiber-optic tube inserted through your penis. Heat from the laser destroys prostate cells that block urine flow.
Interstitial laser therapy is one of several alternatives for treating an enlarged prostate, a condition also known as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Other treatments include medications, transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP), transurethral microwave therapy (TUMT), transurethral needle ablation (TUNA), and open prostatectomy.
- AUA guideline on the management of benign prostatic hyperplasia: Diagnosis and treatment recommendations. Baltimore, Md.: American Urological Association. http://www.auanet.org/content/guidelines-and-quality-care/clinical-guidelines/main-reports/bph-management/chapt_1_appendix.pdf. Accessed March 12, 2009.
- Fried NM. New laser treatment approaches for benign prostatic hyperplasia. Current Urology Reports. 2007;8:47.
- Fitzpatrick JM, et al. Minimally invasive and endoscopic management of benign prostatic hyperplasia. In: Wein AJ, et al, Campbell-Walsh Urology. 9th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/125743340-3/0/1445/91.html?tocnode=54305416&fromURL=91.html. Accessed March 12, 2009.
- Daehlin L, et al. Interstitial laser coagulation in the management of lower urinary tract symptoms suggestive of bladder outlet obstruction from benign prostatic hyperplasia: Long-term follow-up. BJU International. 2007;100:89.
- Edwards JL. Diagnosis and management of benign prostatic hyperplasia. American Family Physician. 2008;77:1403.
