Patients with an enlarged prostate can benefit greatly from treatment and care options available in urology clinics. A urologist will examine the patient and assess the severity of the symptoms before prescribing any treatment. The most often prescribed course is to postpone treatment while monitoring the size of the prostate over time. Urologists will often decide to not intervene during the early stages of the condition because most symptoms of enlarged prostate will clear without any treatment. Urologists may also wait if they believe that the patient is only experiencing a mild and transient prostate enlargement. Essentially, therefore, early visits to a specialist will ensure that potential problems and complications are caught in the early stages and kept under the observation and care of experts. As soon as the condition begins to cause inconvenience and health risks to the patient, the urologist will recommend treatment.
Prostate enlargement can result in urinary tract infections, so urologists will usually prescribe antibiotic medication to help clear up infections before treatment is begun. Various forms of medication, such as the twin inhibitors of di-hydrotestosterone, finasteride and dutasteride, will then be employed to treat the condition. The use of finasteride and dutasteride help to shrink the enlarged prostrate and prevent further growth of the gland. Other drugs such as terazosin, doxazosin, tamsulosin and alfuzosin help to relax smooth muscles, improve urine flow and reduce urinary obstruction.
The surgeons at St Pete Urology also employ minimally invasive techniques to treat BPH. For instance, transurethral microwave procedures are used to heat up and destroy excessive tissue growth within just one hour of treatment. Transurethral needle ablation is used to burn away regions of the enlarged prostate, improving the flow of urine and relieving symptoms. Water-induced thermotherapy is a minimally invasive technique in which heated water is used to destroy and remove excess tissue from the prostate while high-intensity focused ultrasound technique employs ultrasound waves to destroy and remove excess tissue growth in the prostate.
When neither pharmaceutical nor minimally invasive procedures are effective in treating the condition, St Pete Urology doctors will recommend more invasive surgical techniques. The common surgical techniques employed are transurethral surgery, open surgery, laser surgery, interstitial laser coagulation, and photo-selective vaporization.