Patients
Overview
Enlarged prostate, or BPH (benign prostatic hyperplasia), affects over 14 million men in the US.
BPH occurs in approximately half of all men 50 years and older and up to 90% of men over 80 years of age.
BPH is a non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate that restricts urine flow. BPH is not usually life threatening but you may have found it to be embarrassing, inconvenient and uncomfortable. Symptoms of BPH include the need to urinate often, the need to urinate suddenly, difficulty emptying your bladder completely, and difficulty sleeping due to frequent urination.
What is HoLAP and how does the procedure work?
Holmium laser treatment (also known as HoLAP - Holmium
Laser Ablation of the Prostate) uses laser energy to remove obstructing prostate tissue.
A small flexible fiber delivers laser energy to the prostate. The physician controls the direction and delivery of the laser energy, rapidly vaporizing the obstructing tissue. Once the tissue has been vaporized, urine flow may be restored.
The procedure may be completed in an hour or less. The
surgical time depends upon the size of your prostate, the amount of prostate removed, the surgical technique and the power of the laser used by your doctor.
You may go home after a few hours or an overnight stay. You will almost always go home in less than 24 hours.
What are the reasons for undergoing the procedure?
HoLAP is a minimally invasive treatment that uses laser energy designed to alleviate BPH symptoms and reduce some of the traditional complications usually associated with traditional surgery.
Holmium treatment may provide immediate symptom relief and improve your quality of life.
Intended benefits of HoLAP
- Potential immediate relief of symptoms
- Virtually bloodless
- Reduced risk of bleeding or transfusion
- Limited or no catheterization required
- Outpatient procedure
- Generally return home in 24 hours or less
- Generally recover and return to normal activities rapidly
- Potentially long lasting results
- Can be performed while on anticoagulant medication like Coumadin® (warfarin sodium)
- May eliminate need for drugs that were taken to relieve BPH symptoms
- There are generally no commonly expected sexual side effects from a holmium ablation treatment. Impotence and incontinence have not been reported after holmium ablation. Some men may experience retrograde ejaculation
Ask your Doctor how you could benefit from Holmium Laser Treatment for BPH. For more information and for a list of urologists who perform HoLAP, please visit
www.laserforBPH.com
