Current Status of Thermotherapy of the Prostate

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Abstract
We reviewed the available data on transurethral microwave thermotherapy in the treatment of patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Furthermore we provide a perspective of this minimally invasive treatment modality. To our knowledge all previously reported data from clinical trials of transurethral microwave thermotherapy for BPH are reviewed. Transurethral microwave thermotherapy was designed to apply microwave energy deep within lateral prostatic lobes while simultaneously cooling the urethral mucosa, thus enabling an outpatient based anesthesia-free procedure. Lower energy protocols using the Prostraton device provide significant symptomatic improvement and improvement in maximum flow of approximately 35% over baseline. Similar changes are being documented with other transurethral microwave thermotherapy devices. Higher energy protocols using the Prostatron device result in symptomatic improvement similar to that of lower energy protocols, while improvement in uroflowmetry is much more pronounced. However, the latter effect is achieved at the expense of increased morbidity. Second generation protocols have not yet been documented by users of the other thermotherapy devices. Numerous studies unequivocally support the efficacy and safety of transurethral microwave thermotherapy for treatment of symptomatic BPH. Significant improvement in objective and subjective parameters has been realized with transurethral microwave thermotherapy at multiple centers in the United States and Europe.