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>> BPH is an acronym for Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia
and it's a very common condition
that affects virtually all men as they get older.
It's an enlargement of the prostate gland
that is not associated with cancer, but associated
with significant urinary symptoms
and bother as men get older.
In the area of pharmaceutical interventions we've started
to treat men primarily with medications and then we double
up their medications and add a second medication
until they fail these medications
and most men ultimately will fail these medications
and then require surgical intervention.
So, traditional surgery
for prostate enlargement is primarily
with transurethral resection of prostate
or what we call the TURP or a lot of guys refer to it
as the roto-rooter surgery.
This typically requires a general anesthesia.
There is a risk of bleeding, risk of infection,
and patients would have to stay in the hospital for many
or for one to three nights with a Foley catheter
and continues bladder irrigation.
With the new GreenLight procedure we're able
to do the same-- have the same effective outcome,
send these patients home the same day and have a catheter
for only a short 24-hour period.
This is truly the most minimally invasive form of surgery.
There are no cuts that we need to use or make for the surgery.
A small laser fiber is inserted through the cystoscope
and a high power laser is able
to actually vaporize the redundant
or overgrown prostate tissue
without creating any kind of bleeding.
We brought the GreenLight Laser to El Camino Hospital
in November of 2010 shortly after it was released.
So, as part of the Men's Health Program,
we thought it was essential as a leading center
for men's health needs that we employ the latest
and best technology and offer this to our patients.
We have been chosen as one
of the four procedure training sites for other physicians
for the GreenLight Laser technology for three reasons.
One is because of our very good outcomes
of using the laser technology, our high volume of surgeries
that we perform as a single institution,
and our early adoption of this technology.
As the Medical Director of the Men's Health Program
and as a physician in El Camino Hospital I'm very proud
to offer this new technology to my patients to be able to stay
on the cutting edge of technology here
in Silicon Valley and to offer my patients the latest
and greatest in terms of therapy for their BPH.
The changes that patients experience
after GreenLight therapy surgery is significantly greater
than when they are taking medications.
In fact, the best data shows
that objectively patients will have a minimal improvement
in their flow rate or residual urine
on maximal medication therapy,
whereas after the GreenLight Laser procedure,
men will have significantly higher improvements
in their flow rates
and significantly lower residual urines
than if they were taking medications.
At El Camino Hospital this laser is on standby 24/7
in our Operating Room and our physicians are able
to use this technology on last minute notice
and in emergent cases when necessary.