Who Is It Suitable For
GreenLight Laser surgery is suitable for any patient that TURP is indicated, with the exception of men who need laboratory analysis of the prostate tissue that is removed. The latter will be relatively few with the use of the prostate-specific antigen tests and other prostate diagnostics that are available.
Details Of The Procedure
In the majority of cases men will be treated with a single overnight stay in hospital or be allowed to return home on the same day as their operation. A general anaesthetic most commonly is used for this prostate laser surgery. A telescopic camera is then inserted into the penis and the internal surface of the prostate visualized. The GreenLight laser beam is then directed onto the prostate surface and tissue vaporized in an almost bloodless fashion. GreenLight Laser vaporization is continued until all obstructing prostate tissue has been removed.
A small urethral catheter is inserted at the end of the procedure. This is left in place overnight only. After removal of the catheter, men go home once they have successfully passed urine and emptied their bladder.
Follow-up takes place 12 weeks after the prostate laser surgery to confirm symptomatic improvement.
The Prostate Clinic
The Prostate Clinic, located in Australia’s Gold Coast, specialise in minimally invasive surgery and treatments, for the prostate and prostate cancer.
Dr. Charles Chabert carries out medical therapy and procedures such as robotic prostate surgery and UroLift, to GreenLight laser prostate surgery or laser prostate surgery. These treatments are aimed at patients with prostate cancer, those seeking enlarged prostate treatment, erectile dysfunction and/or urinary incontinence.
Contact The Prostate Clinic to arrange an appointment to discuss your diagnoses and plan your way forward.
Latest Blog Posts
Seek Care Immediately If:
- You cannot urinate, or if you have a catheter, no urine is filling the bag.
- You have a blocked catheter or it comes out of the urethra.
- You have lower abdominal pain or back pain that does not go away.
- You have redness, pain, blood, or drainage where the catheter enters the penis.
- Your symptoms are getting worse or coming back.
- Your urine becomes very cloudy and foul smelling.
Don’t Miss: 10 Early Warning Signs Of Prostate Cancer
Enlarged Prostate Laser Surgery: Recovery Side Effects And Natural Treatment
Prostate enlargement is a common feature in males over fifty years of age. Prostate is a gland at the base of the urinary bladder and around the urethra. It is in a size of large chest-nut. Most common enlargement of prostate is benign enlargement of prostate. It is non-cancerous and usually causes obstruction of urine outflow, increase in frequency of urination especially in night and dull pain below umbilical region. Cancerous enlargement is dangerous and can spread to surrounding organs.Enlargement can be due to exposure to cold and chill, infectious diseases, excessive sexual excitement, constipation etc. Prostate problems affect many men, especially those in their senior years.
The laser procedure has its fair share of advantages and disadvantages. Still, in most cases, the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. This is especially true if the procedure is done by a trained and licensed medical professional using FDA approved laser equipment.
Laser surgery is minimally invasive thus the chances of bleeding are minimal. This means that the procedure can also be done on those who are taking blood thinners and those who have bleeding disorders. Laser surgery can correct an enlarged prostate.
Greenlight Laser Treatment Of Bph
The GreenLight Laser is used in the treatment of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia , commonly known as enlargement of the Prostate. GreenLight laser treatment is a therapy that evaporates prostatic tissue which is blocking the outlet of the bladder. It is performed under anesthesia by placing a telescope into the urethra up to the level of the prostate. The laser fiber is guided through the scope and the prostate tissue is then quickly and gently vaporized. Other names for the procedure include photovaporization of the prostate or photoselective vaporization of the prostate or laser ablation of the prostate. You may also see the GreenLight laser referred to as a KTP laser.
The University of Virginia has dedictated physicians who are trained in the use of the GreenLight laser.
How does GreenLight differ from other laser treatments of the prostate?
Several other laser therapies exist. Interstitial laser therapy is a type of thermotherapy that heats the prostate tissue, but does not vaporize or remove it. Holmium laser therapy is another high power laser that evaporates tissue in a procedure similar to the GreenLight. At the University of Virginia, we use the new GreenLight HPS system, which is a higher powered version of the original GreenLight laser made by LaserScope/AMS. The higher powered GreenLight HPS allows the surgeon to remove more of the obstructing prostate tissue in a shorter time than the older GreenLight system.
Is GreenLight treatment right for me?
Don’t Miss: Prostate Biopsy Risks Spreading Cancer
What To Expect After Green Laser Prostate Surgery
The GreenLight Laser is used for the treatment of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia . This is most commonly referred to as enlargement of the Prostate. It is a therapy involving evaporation of prostatic tissue that blocks bladder outlet.
The surgery is performed under the effect of anesthesia. Surgeon will place a telescope into the urethra up and about the prostate level. A scope is used to guide laser fiber towards the prostate tissue which is quickly and smoothly vaporized. The surgery is also termed as the following:
- Prostate photovaporization
- Laser ablation of the prostate
- KTP laser surgery
How Long Does Green Light Laser Surgery Last
Most patients experience relief of symptoms and improvement in urine flow within 24 hours of the procedure. However, medical history, health conditions, and other factors can influence treatment and recovery. How long will symptom improvements last? GreenLight Laser Therapy has proven durability out to 5 years.
You May Like: Methods Of Treating Prostate Cancer
Cost Of Treatment And Insurances
At New York Urology Specialists, we offer affordable treatment for men. Our prices are low for patients without insurance and for those who have high insurance copays, high deductibles, or insurance plans that do not cover treatment costs.
We accept many health insurance plans. We would be happy to verify your eligibility and benefits and provide you with detailed information on your health plans coverage. and credit options are available to help you pay for medical care.
Green Light Laser Prostate Surgery Is A Big Boon
Prostate enlargement is a deadly infection experienced by most of the men that brings discomfort in their life. It is caused due to growth of prostate gland due to which urethra is compressed.
As such the follow passage for urine is obstructed and this results in increased bothersome urinary symptoms like irritation, strained, slow, discontinuous and frequent urine. Among many treatments to cure this infection, green light laser therapy is one of the best treatments for this infection as it involves the use of modern technology of lasers.
Since long this treatment has set of new standard care for treating enlarged prostate symbols. You might have heard about the surgery with the name PVP, which stands for photoselective vaporization of the prostate. Green light laser therapy has received FDA clearance in May 2001.
Basically laser surgery uses high energy lasers to destroy prostate tissue. Following procedure is followed in green light laser surgery. The patient is first given general or spinal anesthesia. The doctor then passes the thin laser fiber through the passage called urethra into the prostate using cytoscope, cytoscope is a camera that allows doctor to examine bladder and prostate, and delivers bursts of energy. Each burst lasts for 30 to 60 seconds. The high energy of lasers destroys prostate tissue by vaporizing them and prostates are thus removed.
Recommended Reading: Where Does Prostate Cancer Commonly Metastasize To
How Is Bph Diagnosed And Whos A Candidate
We typically diagnose BPH after hearing of a patients symptoms, most commonly the frequent or urgent need to urinate. We often ask patients to complete questionnaires to measure the extent to which their symptoms bother them, as well as the strength of their urine stream. Ultimately, if a man has problems urinating, we determine if its BPH by measuring the size of their prostate via an ultrasound and evaluate the appearance of their prostate with a cystoscopy, a procedure that uses a small camera to identify signs of BPH, such as the narrowing of the urethra where it passes through the prostate gland.
The best candidates for GreenLight laser surgery are men who want a treatment option that is going to last long-term. While most men are candidates for the surgery, its not the right option for everyone . Following a GreenLight laser surgery, patients can experience retrograde ejaculation, where semen travels backward into the bladder during sex rather than exiting through the penis. Men who cant or dont want to go under anesthesia also are not good candidates for this procedure.
What Can I Expect From The Procedure
The procedure takes an average of 60 to 90 minutes under general anaesthetic. A thin laser fibre is positioned within the laserscope and is passed up through the urethra to deliver the treatment.
At BPC, we recognise that for some men, a trim TURP can be a useful procedure at the end of GreenLight laser surgery if residual prostate tissue is still present. We call this a trim TURP. By completing the procedure in this way, the normal flow of urine out of the body is restored and the likelihood of needing further surgery in the future is reduced. Having a trim TURP in additional to laser surgery does not have a significant impact upon your post-operative recovery, our experience shows. After your procedure, you will spend one night in hospital.
Don’t Miss: How To Fix A Swollen Prostate
How Does Greenlight Laser Surgery Work
During GreenLight laser surgery, we vaporize prostate tissue that is blocking the outlet of the bladder. We do this by placing a scope near the prostate while patients are under anesthesia and using it to guide a laser fiber up to the prostate to gently vaporize the prostatic tissue. The laser is absorbed by hemoglobin molecules in the red blood cells during the process, which results in less bleeding than other treatments. After we eliminate the prostatic tissue, individuals return home with a urinary catheter that they either remove themselves or at the hospital the next day.
Other treatment options, such as transurethral resection of the prostate , surgically shaves the prostate down from the inside. Surgeons primarily used TURP to treat BPH in the past and typically its just as effective as GreenLight laser surgery in the long run. But TURP can be more invasive, requiring patients to stay the night at the hospital, and can result in longer recoveries. Patients who undergo TURP also often have a longer period until the bleeding in their urine resolves.
Harvard Experts Discuss Surgical Options For Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia
Benign prostatic hyperplasia is one of the most common disorders affecting men as they grow older. Yet there is much confusion about the best way to treat this disorder surgically, in part because it seems that every year, a new surgical option is introduced.
Harvard editors invited three experts to participate in a roundtable discussion to share their thoughts about the relative benefits and risks of current surgical treatments for BPH.
| Note: Men who decide to undergo surgery to relieve BPH symptoms have multiple options to choose from. Our panel of Harvard experts discusses the most common options, which are briefly defined below. See Table 3 for a comparison of recovery rates and other considerations. |
The panel consisted of these experts:
Transurethral resection of the prostate . Still the most common form of surgery, TURP is often inelegantly referred to as the Roto-Rooter technique. This procedure takes place in an operating room under general or spinal anesthesia. During the procedure, the surgeon uses an instrument called a resectoscope to view the prostate . The surgeon threads the resectoscope through the penis to the prostate, then uses the electrical loop to cut away the overgrown tissue thats pressing against the urethra.
Read Also: Gleason Score 7 Prostate Cancer Treatment Options
Green Light Laser Surgery For Prostate Benefits And Side Effects
Are you dealing with the annoying urinary difficulties due to benign prostate hyperplasia? Are you looking into the possibility of getting a green light laser prostate surgery that will put an end to your sufferings? But remember this surgery, like any other, comes with potential side-effects that you need to remember. Lets explore the most common and rarer side-effects of the green light laser surgery on prostate!
Benefits Of Greenlight Laser Pvp
- Minimal bleeding
- Only 30% of patients need a post-op catheter
- Discharge on the same day
- Resume normal activities in 2 to 3 days with caution
- Return to vigorous activity level in 4 to 6 weeks
- Complications occur infrequently and are mild if they do
- Post-operative impotence has not been associated with PVP
- Retrograde ejaculation is less likely with PVP
- Erectile Dysfunction is not typical in PVP patients
- Long-term success in improved urine flow
- Fewer symptoms of urinary obstruction
Also Check: What Kind Of Pain Does Prostate Cancer Cause
Why Is Green Light Laser Prostate Surgery Performed
Green light laser surgery is performed for the purposes of treating Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia . Benign Prostate Hyperplasia , also known as enlarged prostate, is quite common among older men. The symptoms of an enlarged prostate include frequent need to urinate, increased frequency of urination during the night, difficulty to start urinating, weak urine stream that stops and starts, etc. The symptoms usually start off in a more mild form but tend to get worse over time.
Green light laser surgery for prostate is one of the newest, minimally invasive treatment options for benign prostatic hyperplasia. The green light laser beam is used to vaporize the obstructing inner part of the prostate gland itself that is causing the urinary symptoms that are reducing the quality of life of the patient. No cuts are made as a part of the surgery.
At the end of the surgery, a catheter is placed into the bladder and through the penis as a way to drain urine in the next three days, after which the staff at the hospital removes the catheter. Once the green light laser prostate surgery is successfully performed, there is an open and clear passage for the urine to be eliminated, as all of the enlarged prostate symptoms are efficiently relieved.
Post Greenlight Laser Surgery Recovery
jim0601
I had GL surgery four days ago and would appreciate feedback regarding the recovery process from those that have also undergone this procedure. I currently void every 30 to 60 minutes at night and every 30 to 60 minutes during the day. My flow is a stream for a few seconds then dribbles for maybe 30 seconds. Is this pretty typical? After the surgery I was drinking 1 1/2 liters of water per day but I may reduce this because I am not convinced my bladder is emptying fully. What do you think about this? When I void, it really burns at first and often I will get bladder spasms as well. Do you think the pain is radiated pain from where the prostate was vaporized? Do you think I will see improvement with these symptoms on a daily basis or weekly basis over the next month or so?
3 likes, 163 replies
Posted 7 years ago
I had a similar problem. it was caused by blood clots forming in the uretha and thus the inconsistant flow of urine.I went to A& E because i was unable to pass urine at all at one stage. They flushed out the bladder and it was unbelievable how many clots there were. They are unlikely to disove them selves. BVut this is some thing yiu need to check out.
good luck
Posted 4 years ago
I have had the surgery 2010 and since been having problems with bladder not emptying it sounds like I’m going to have it redone again
You May Like: Where To Go For Prostate Exam
Who Can Have This Treatment
All patients with an enlarged prostate, known as Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia are suitable, including those on anticoagulants. Because we use powerful, third generation laser technology and proven techniques, we can treat men with large prostates, including those who have gone into retention and are dependent upon a catheter.
What Can You Expect The Day Of Your Procedure
On the day of your procedure, you will come to the treatment center. You should have someone drive you home since this is an outpatient procedure. Keep in mind that different patients may require a different treatment regimen.
Before treatment, your physician may give you medication to help you relax during the procedure. You may also receive medication to help you avoid infections.You may be asked to empty your bladder.
You will be brought into the procedure room and moved into the treatment bed where you will lie on your back. You will be provided anesthesia that will allow you to sleep through the entire procedure. Depending on the treatment center, other types of anesthesia may be used, including spinal block or a nerve block.
Once you are asleep or the anesthesia block takes effect, your physician will insert a cystoscope through your urethra. The laser fiber is introduced through the cystoscope and advanced into the urethra at the location of the prostate. The physician systematically vaporizes the enlarged prostate tissue until the obstruction is removed.
Following the GreenLight procedure, you will likely experience immediate improvement in flow and symptoms, but will possibly have mild short-term urgency and frequency or mild pain during urination. Blood in the urine occurs less frequently however, retrograde or diminished ejaculate volume is common. You may require a catheter for a short time, which is dependent on the physicians discretion.
Recommended Reading: Psa Levels And Prostate Cancer