[Endoscopic enucleation of the prostate]

Abstract

The spectrum of surgical procedures for the minimally invasive treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) has significantly increased over the last two decades. The simple suprapubic prostatectomy (subtotal prostatectomy, SP) has largely lost relevance in current practice. On the other hand, transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) has been further standardized and potentially made safer by the introduction of the bipolar technique and low-pressure systems.Transurethral (endoscopic) enucleation techniques (endoscopic enucleation of the prostate, EEP) are increasingly competing with the current gold standard TURP and are replacing SP for treatment of larger adenomas. This approach is especially related to the rapid development of laser technology, which has sustainably changed the face of modern BPH treatment in a similar way to stone therapy. This has been incorporated in the clinical patient management, clinical studies and standardization of numerous surgical techniques that are systematically described in this article. Additionally, efforts have also been made to use other energy sources, such as bipolar current in EEP. With respect to scientific objectivity, high-quality clinical trials are regularly published which further strengthen the position of EEP.

Keywords: Benign prostatic hyperplasia; Benign prostatic syndrome; Lower urinary tract symptoms; Transurethral resection of prostate; Urinary bladder neck obstruction.