URODYNAMICS AND LASER PROSTATECTOMY

A total of 81 patients with symptomatic bladder-outlet obstruction (BO O) due to benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) underwent visual laser ab lation of the prostate (VLAP) using a right-angled firing neodynium: Y AG laser. The mean pre-operative prostatic volume was 48.5 ml. All pat ients were discharged on the Ist post-operative day with an indwelling catheter. Two patients underwent a transurethral prostatectomy (TURF) after failing a trial without catheter on two occasions. Of the remai ning 79 patients, 75 were evaluated 6 months post-operatively. Mean sy mptom scores (I-PSS) decreased from 20.9 to 5.8, the mean maximal urin ary flow rate increased from 7.9 to 16.4 ml/a and the mean residual vo lume decreased from 88.1 to 15.6 ml. Several different methods of eval uating BOO from pressure-flow measurements were used and all showed im provement. All the above-mentioned parameters showed a highly signific ant improvement (P < 0.01) at 6 months.