Relieving Prostate Symptoms without Surgery

Two advanced therapies offered at Hartford Hospital are giving men new non-surgical options for relief from enlarged prostate.

The new UroLift System is an outpatient procedure in which four to six implants are put into place to hold the prostate lobes apart so they can’t press on the urethra. The procedure takes 20 minutes.

“UroLift offers a novel, minimally invasive treatment for BPH that’s different from all earlier ones,” says Dr. Richard Kershen, a urologist at Hartford Hospital. Patients rarely require catheters, bleeding is minimal and symptoms improve quickly.

Another technique for obstruction blood flow, known as embolization, is also being used to alleviate enlarged prostate symptoms. Hartford Hospital is one of few centers in the country providing this treatment.

In prostatic artery embolization, or PAE, an interventional radiologist guides a catheter into the blood vessel in the patient’s groin, locates the blood vessels supplying the prostate and inserts tiny, sterile particles to reduce the blood flow. The procedure is done on an outpatient basis, and patients go home right away. The prostate shrinks over time, restoring urine flow.

Interventional radiologists Michael Hallisey, MD, and Steven Sussman, MD, have been performing PAE since late 2015.

“For patients considering surgery, this is a less invasive option,” says Hallisey. “While it is likely to have a slightly lower success rate than surgery, it also has a lower risk of impotence and other complications.”