Prostate Artery Embolization
An enlarged prostate or BPH is so common as men age that the NIH says it affects 50% of men aged 51-60, and up to 90% of men older than 80. “Many patients will experience symptoms like an increased frequency of urination, needing to get up a lot at night to go to the bathroom, sensations of intermittency, when they urinate, sensations of urgency, when they urinate, and a decrease quality of life,” said Interventional Radiologist Dr. David Johnson.
Doctors can prescribe medication, but depending on the severity, doctors can perform a prostate artery embolization. “We can navigate a small tube, called a catheter through the blood vessels and navigate to the arteries that supply the prostate. Once we confirm we are in the correct artery that supplying the prostate, then we can physically block the blood flow to the prostate. That is done by injecting small microscopic beads or particles that lodge into the arteries that ultimately feed the prostate,” said Dr. Johnson. “Ultimately, the way I like to think of it as we are putting the prostate on a diet.”
Over the next few weeks to months, the prostate will shrink. “The main thing we see, is a significant improvement in urinary tract symptoms and quality of life,” said Dr. Johnson. Since this approach is minimally invasive, the recovery time is much faster than it used to be. “We’re not having to put a device up the urethra, or even a catheter up in the urethra over the urinary bladder.”
Since the prostate doesn’t have much useful function in older men, there aren’t any downsides. You can learn more by searching for BPH on leehealth.org.
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