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PVP Greenlight Procedure
 At 54 years of age, the patient says he tried so hard to urinate that he actually developed hemorrhoids in the process. That's how hard he had to push for any stream of urine to appear.
At work, where his responsibilities include heavy lifting, he says he constantly would be going back and forth to the restroom for relief, yet the difficulty in urination persisted.
When his family doctor said he was a candidate for a new alternative outpatient treatment relieving Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia, or an enlarged prostate, the patient says he didn't think twice about the GreenLight PVP Laser Procedure or Photoselective Vaporization of the Prostate.
"I was ready for anything," says the patient. "I just knew I had to get relief." The GreenLight procedure, performed under general anesthesia by staff urologist Dr. Franklin Margolis at Warren Hospital on Oct. 5, brought the patient immediate results. He says he had no more painful urination, and no catheter to deal with. He was given a prescription for an antibiotic and, in event of any discomfort, was allowed to take Extra-Strength Tylenol (still unopened.) He was able to resume normal activities within the week. "I felt 100 percent better," he recalls in a phone interview. "I had to take it easy for 48 hours and drink lots of water, but I feel like a new man," he says, praising the care of his doctor and nurses.
According to Margolis, of Summit Urology in Phillipsburg, the patient was one of three that day to have the GreenLight procedure performed by him. He says he had five patients scheduled for the same procedure on Oct. 12, and there are more scheduled in November. The GreenLight PV Laser System is a patented green light laser that provides the energy to perform the PVP procedure. A thin fiber is inserted into the urethra through a cystoscope, an instrument that allows the doctor to examine the bladder and prostate, the walnut-shaped gland located beneath the male bladder and rectum. It surrounds the urethra, the tube that carries the urine, and provides fluid for semen. The fiber delivers green laser energy that quickly vaporizes and precisely removes enlarged prostate tissue. The doctor is able to safely view and control the treatment area, tailoring it to individual anatomy and needs. Because the tissue is vaporized and removed, a wide-open channel is created, the natural urine flow is restored and urinary symptoms are relieved. The procedure, performed under general or spinal anesthesia, can range from 15 to 30 minutes. Treatment for enlarged prostate has included thermal therapies which use heat to destroy prostate tissue that is then left in the body to become scar tissue and to be expelled over time (sloughing).
While TURP, or a transurethral resection of the prostate with an electrical "knife" to remove excess prostate tissue, has long been considered the "gold standard" for treating enlarged prostate, even though it does have its risks and complications which can include blood transfusion, impotence, incontinence, infection and longer hospital stay. The downside of TURP, is patients have to discontinue anticoagulants prior to treatment, and that patients who are on such medications for heart problems are going unprotected during this time until the procedure is completed and their system is stabilized to resume the medications. With the GreenLight procedure, anticoagulants do not have to be stopped.
Sam Fields
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