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Risks
By Mayo Clinic staffSerious long-term complications are less likely with interstitial laser therapy than with surgery. However, interstitial laser therapy is more likely to cause problems right after the procedure than surgery or other treatments for enlarged prostate. Risks of interstitial laser therapy include:
- Urinary retention. Some men have trouble urinating after interstitial laser therapy. If this happens, you may need a tube inside your penis to drain urine from your bladder (urinary catheter) for several days to a few weeks.
- Urinary tract infection. A urinary tract infection is more likely to occur the longer you have a catheter in place. Urinary tract infections are a common complication of interstitial laser therapy, and may require antibiotics or other treatment.
- Narrowing (stricture) of the urethra. This condition blocks the tube that carries urine from your bladder and may require additional treatment.
- Need for re-treatment. Some men who have interstitial laser therapy later require more treatment — usually surgery. The need for additional treatment after interstitial laser therapy is more likely than it is after transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) or open prostatectomy, either because symptoms return over time or because they never adequately improve. Up to half of men who have interstitial laser therapy eventually need further treatment to relieve urinary symptoms caused by enlarged prostate.
- Retrograde ejaculation. This is a condition in which semen flows backward into the bladder during ejaculation. It isn't painful or harmful. If you have it, you ejaculate very little or no semen out of your penis when you have an orgasm.
- Erectile problems. There is a small risk that interstitial laser therapy could cause erectile dysfunction — the inability to maintain an erection firm enough to have sex.
- 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.
