TRANSURETHRAL THERMOTHERAPY USING THE PROSTATRON DEVICE

This paper reviews the available data on low- and high-energy transure thral microwave thermotherapy (TUMT) in the treatment of patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Furthermore, it provides a perspe ctive for this minimally invasive treatment modality in the selection of patients and in future developments. In evaluations of the two soft ware modalities, several clinical studies have proved them to be effec tive. Whereas the lower-energy software seems to be the better choice for treatment of patients with lower urinary tract symptoms who have a lower grade of outlet obstruction and a smaller prostate, the higher- energy mode should be used to deobstruct and can be used in patients w ith larger prostates and moderate to severe outlet obstruction. Althou gh baseline parameters can be used to predict the response to treatmen t in the higher-energy software mode, the total amount of energy remai ns very important for the final outcome, and future efforts should be encouraged to quantify prostate vascularization and histology in relat ion to transurethral microwave heating. Furthermore, future developmen ts should focus on shorter treatment times and minimization of morbidi ty.