An update on transurethral surgery for benign prostatic obstruction

Clinical benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is one of the most common cause of lower urinary tract symptoms and transurethral resection of prostate (TURP) has been the gold standard technique for surgical treatment of benign prostate obstruction (BPO) over the last 2 decades. Although monopolar TURP is considered a safe and effective option for surgical management of BPO, there are some disadvantages, namely bleeding, transurethral resection syndrome, incompleteness of treatment. This review aims to highlight these problems, and describe the advances in technology and techniques that have evolved to minimise such complications. With the advent of lasers and bipolar technology, as well as enucleative techniques to remove the prostatic adenoma/adenomata, the problems of bleeding, transurethral resection syndrome and incomplete treatment are significantly minimised. Monopolar TURP will likely be replaced by such technology and techniques in the near future such that transurethral surgery of the prostate remain a safe and effective option in alleviating the harmful effects of BPO.