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Why it's done
By Mayo Clinic staffTURP helps reduce urinary symptoms in most men with BPH. It's best suited for men who have larger prostate glands and moderate to severe urinary symptoms. It has better long-term results than do medications and many other treatments for enlarged prostate.
Urinary symptoms caused by BPH 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
TURP 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
Men who have TURP are less likely to need retreatment later than are men who opt for other, less invasive prostate procedures. But TURP is more likely to cause complications and generally requires a longer recovery period.
Other enlarged prostate procedures include transurethral needle ablation (TUNA), transurethral microwave therapy (TUMT), transurethral incision of the prostate (TUIP), laser surgery such as holmium laser enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP) or laser photovaporization of the prostate (PVP), and open prostatectomy.
Less invasive treatments generally don't provide the long-lasting results that TURP and open prostatectomy do. But a number of other prostate procedures are becoming more effective with the development of improved techniques and surgical tools. Some men opt for a less invasive procedure first, and then have TURP done later if symptoms don't improve or they get worse over time. Even with TURP, some men need additional procedures, typically five to 10 years following TURP.
- 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.
- 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.
- Cunningham GR, et al. Surgical and other invasive therapies of benign prostatic hyperplasia. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Jan. 2, 2011.
- Thiel DD, et al. Electroresection and open surgery. Urologic Clinics of North America. 2009;36:461.
- Matlaga BR, et al. Surgery for benign prostatic hypertrophy. In: Graham SD, et al. Glenn's Urologic Surgery. 7th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. 2010:166.
- Smith RD, et al. Transurethral resection of the prostate revisited and updated. Current Opinion in Urology. 2011;21:36.
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