Watchful Waiting
Drug Treatment
Non-invasive Therapies
Invasive Therapies

Watchful waiting:
If you can live with your symptoms and are not having complications such as infection or episodes of urinary retention (inability to void), you can probably just wait and have no treatment. Yearly visits to your doctor with a DRE and PSA is all that is required.

Drug Treatment:

i) Alpha blockers : These medications relax the muscle in the bladder, particularly that around the opening of the urethra. Improvement is immediate (almost) but there can be side effects.

Current Drugs:
Hytrin
Cardura
Flomax

ii) 5 alpha reductase inhibitors : These medications shrink the prostate and may work well in men with big glands. There are a number of newer compounds being tested.

Current Drugs:
Proscar

iii) Phytotherapy : Some natural remedies may work such as Saw Palmetto. There is no harm in trying these but I don't know it they work any better than a placebo.

Non-invasive Therapies:
There is a number of different methods available—
  • Transurethral Microwave Therapy (TUMT)
  • Transurethral Needle Ablation (TUNA)
We do not use them but I can tell you more if you E-mail me.

Invasive Therapies:
Transurethral Resection of the Prostate (TURP) is the "reaming out" of the prostate. This procedure works very well but has its drawbacks. TURP is usually reserved for patients where medical therapy has failed or is contraindicated.

Retropubic Prostatectomy is an open surgical procedure for very large glands or for patients who have multiple bladder stones.

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