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Why it's done
By Mayo Clinic staffTUIP is used to ease urinary symptoms caused by an enlarged prostate. Symptoms can include:
- A frequent, urgent need to urinate
- Difficulty starting urination
- Slow (prolonged) urination
- Increased frequency of urination at night (nocturia)
- Stopping and starting again while urinating
- The feeling you can't completely empty your bladder
- Urinary tract infections
TUIP may also be done to treat or prevent complications due to blocked urine flow, such as:
- Recurring urinary tract infections
- Kidney malfunction or kidney damage
- Bladder damage, which can result in an inability to control urination (incontinence)
- Blood in your urine
- Bladder stones
TUIP is an option only when the prostate gland is relatively small — less than about 1 ounce (30 milliliters) in size. If you have a larger prostate or you have severe urinary symptoms, a different procedure may be a better option.
Other enlarged prostate procedures include transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP), transurethral needle ablation (TUNA), transurethral microwave therapy (TUMT), laser surgery such as holmium laser enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP) or laser photovaporization of the prostate (PVP), and open prostatectomy.
TUIP is less likely than TURP or open prostatectomy to cause serious bleeding and surgery-related complications. Other enlarged prostate treatments, including holmium laser enuclation of the prostate (HoLEP), appear to be more effective than is TUIP at easing urinary symptoms in the long run.
- Cunningham GR, et al. Surgical and other invasive therapies of benign prostatic hyperplasia. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Jan. 2, 2011.
- Prostate enlargement: Benign prostatic hyperplasia. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/kudiseases/pubs/prostateenlargement. Accessed Feb. 11, 2011.
- 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 Jan. 27, 2011.
- Guideline on the management of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Linthicum, MD. American Urological Association. http://www.auanet.org/content/guidelines-and-quality-care/clinical-guidelines.cfm?sub=bph. Accessed Jan. 27, 2011.
- Lourenco T. The clinical effectiveness of transurethral incision of the prostate: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials. World Journal of Urology. 2010;28:23.
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