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Definition
By Mayo Clinic staffTransurethral needle ablation (TUNA), also called radiofrequency therapy, is an outpatient procedure to treat urinary problems caused by an enlarged prostate. TUNA uses radio waves to destroy the part of your prostate that's blocking urine flow.
During TUNA, your doctor will use a visual instrument (cytoscope) to place tiny needles that into your prostate. Once the needles are placed into your prostate, radio waves pass through them to heat and destroy excess prostate cells.
TUNA 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), laser surgery, 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.
- Cunningham GR, et al. Surgical and other invasive therapies of benign prostatic hyperplasia. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 12, 2009.
- d'Ancona FC. Nonablative minimally invasive thermal therapies in the treatment of symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia. Current Opinion in Urology. 2008;18:21.
- Bouza, C, et al. Systematic review and meta-analysis of transurethral needle ablation in symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia. BMC Urology. 2006;6:14.
- 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.
