CLINICAL-RESPONSE TO TRANSURETHRAL MICROWAVE THERMOTHERAPY IS THERMALDOSE-DEPENDENT

Transurethral microwave thermotherapy of the prostate was used to trea t men with symptomatic benign prostatic hypertrophy. Three treatment p rotocols delivering increasing thermal doses (Prostasoft T-A > Prostas oft II > Prostasoft I) were evaluated. The results show a dose-depende nt response. Histological changes induced by microwave heating were de pendent on the temperature achieved in the tissue. Thermocoagulation i s obtained above 45-degrees-C and thermoablation above 60-degrees-C. U sing Prostasoft II in a long-term follow-up study, the Madsen symptom score decreased by 66% and peak flow rates increased by 41 % over a pe riod of more than 18 months. Using Prostasoft T-A (thermoablation) in 28 patients, a cavity was obtained inside the prostate without major c omplication. The symptoms and obstruction caused by benign prostatic h ypertrophy can be treated by transurethral thermotherapy in a single, anesthesia-free 1-hour session on an ambulatory basis.