TRANSURETHRAL MICROWAVE THERMOTHERAPY FOR UNCOMPLICATED BENIGN PROSTATIC HYPERPLASIA - A PROSPECTIVE-STUDY WITH EMPHASIS ON SYMPTOMATIC IMPROVEMENT AND COMPLICATIONS

A single session of transurethral microwave thermotherapy (TUMT) was u sed in 115 patients with symptomatic uncomplicated benign prostatic hy perplasia (BPH).Subjective symptoms and urodynamic parameters were ass essed before treatment, at 6 weeks, 3, 6 and 12 months after treatment and complications recorded. There was significant improvement in obst ructive, irritative and total symptom scores at all time intervals. Th e maximum and corrected flow rate improved significantly at all time i ntervals as well as the decrease in residual urine. Complications occu rred in 45.2% patients with no mortality. The most frequent complicati ons were urinary tract infection (32.1%) and urinary retention (28.6%) . Two patients experienced retrograde ejaculation. No patient was hosp italized due to complication. Four (3.5%) patients required transureth ral resection of the prostate during the follow-up period due to persi stent symptoms; 96.5% have remained satisfied. In conclusion, TUMT is a promising treatment option in selected patients with BPH, is well to lerated and complications are easy to treat. Its main advantage is the fact that it can be administered on an outpatient basis, thus reducin g patient inconvenience and costs.