Surgery for Prostatitis
There is a 1982 study demonstrating some relief in some men with “radical” transurethral prostatectomy (an aggressive scraping of the prostate); to the best of our knowledge that study was not replicated and its symptom measures had not been well defined or validated.
In 2007, a 55-year old man came to us with an eight-year history of severe chronic prostatitis. This man had pursued many kinds of treatments with no success. He had consulted some of the most respected academic institutions with no relief. He came to us with a seemingly simple request: To have a laparoscopic prostatectomy, a minimally invasive operation to remove his prostate. After a long discussion about conventional treatment options, the absence of scientific data regarding the therapeutic effect of prostate removal, and the risks of surgery, we went ahead.
The surgical technique we used is known as laparoscopic prostatectomy. This is a technique that we introduced into the United States in 1999. We have more than 10 years of experience using it for patients with prostate cancer. In our hands, the technique is fast and is associated with minimal bleeding; we have not transfused a patient in 10 years. It is associated with minimal pain; on average our patients take 2 Tylenols in the first 24 hours.
If you would like to learn more about laparoscopic prostatectomy, please log on to our other web site by clicking here. This site describes the technique and also shares many stories from our prostate cancer patients. We will be pleased to answer any questions that you have after seeing this site.
This man was immediately and completely relieved of his chronic prostatitis symptoms with laparoscopic prostatectomy. The relief has endured for what is now nearly three years; there is no reason to believe his symptoms will ever return. As importantly, he has had no ill effects from surgery: His urinary control was immediate (actually, his urinary function improved), his erections have returned, and he is able to sit without a donut cushion. You can read David’s story as he tells is by clicking here.
Since David’s surgery, laparoscopic prostatectomy has provided other men with relief from a broad range of severe and chronic prostatitis symptoms. You can read some of their stories by clicking on the green links on the left.
In parallel with the self-reports of our patients, we have begun to prospectively collect standardized, self-reported symptom measurements using the National Institutes of Health’s Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index. These data show scientifically what the patients are telling us in plain language: Laparoscopic prostatectomy is associated with symptom relief.
