Objectives: To present our 3-year data comparing laser prostatectomy and transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Laser prostatectomy was one of the first new minimally invasive treatment modalities for BPH, and few reports of the long-term results of this treatment regimen have been published.
Methods: One hundred men with BPH in whom medical therapy had failed were randomized to undergo either laser prostatectomy or TURP. Preoperative measurements included American Urologic Association symptom score, prostate-specific antigen, uroflowmetry, and transrectal ultrasonography (TRUS). Laser prostatectomy was performed using the potassium titanyl-phosphate/neodynium:yttrium aluminum-garnet laser. TURP was performed in a standard manner with video monitoring. Patients were seen in follow-up at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months and every 12 months thereafter, with the following data obtained: symptom score, peak urinary flow rate, prostate-specific antigen level, and TRUS volume.
Results: A total of 100 patients were entered into the study, with 50 patients in each treatment group. The mean age was 68.2 years (range 45 to 90) for the laser patients and 67.4 years (range 54 to 82) for the TURP group. The mean symptom score decreased from 22.0 to 9.9 at 36 months of follow-up for the laser patients compared with 21.2 to 7.7 for the TURP patients. The mean peak flow rate increased from 8.2 to 12.3 mL/s at 36 months for the laser group with a similar increase from 7.3 to 12.8 mL/s for the TURP patients. The mean TRUS volume for the laser patients decreased from 33.9 to 32.9 cm3 at 36 months compared with a mean TRUS volume of 29.6 cm3 preoperatively for the TURP patients that decreased to 26.3 cm3 at 36 months.
Conclusions: At 36 to 72 months of follow-up, the durability of results achieved by the patients in the laser cohort was similar to that for patients undergoing TURP.