Prostatitis Surgery

The prostate is an organ of the male pelvis; it is found just behind the pubic bone.

The prostate can have many things wrong with it. As men age, the prostate can enlarge and obstruct urination. The prostate is also commonly a source of cancer. From this point forward we will consider only prostatitis, a third possible prostatic condition that is characterized by a broad range of potential symptoms.

Prostatitis achieves clinical meaning because it can cause great discomfort. The discomfort associated with prostatitis varies from man to man and can include combinations of pelvic pain, pelvic pressure, a vague sense of discomfort, a feeling of malaise and fatigue, fever, burning on urination, pain on reaching orgasm, and bleeding. In severe cases, the discomfort of chronic prostatitis can cause reductions in quality of life as severe as those seen in acute heart attack and such inflammatory bowel diseases as Crohn’s Disease.

The symptoms of prostatitis can be short-lived, in which case we call this acute prostatitis. However, in many men the symptoms of prostatitis can be chronic and indeed very long-lasting; in the past, such conditions were sometimes called prostatodynia, a term that is no longer in general use. This site is about chronic prostatitis, which is technically referred to as type III prostatitis.

Chronic prostatitis is a very common problem. It is estimated that in the United States chronic prostatitis is responsible for as many as two million doctor visits a year. For the man with it, the disease can be ruinous, interfering with work, intimacy, and other things.

The cause of chronic prostatitis is not known. In fact there are schools of thought that chronic prostatitis is not a disease of the prostate but rather a disease of other pelvic structures. Such thinking is partly supported by the fact that some symptomatic relief is seen in some men who undergo pelvic physical therapy including trigger point release.