NHS approves use of laser treatment for prostate enlargement

A British study recently recommended that to avert prostate cancer, men should eat red tomatoes because of the cancer-fighting properties of lycopene, found in the skin of red fruits and vegetables. However, for prostate enlargement, the National Health Service (NHS) of UK just approved the user of laser treatment.

With this new guidance from Britain’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), thousands of men above 60, of whom about 60 percent suffer from prostate enlargement would benefit. The condition, which hit males when they become older, causes frequent trips to the bathroom at night to urinate and causes urinary tract infections.

With the laser treatment which vaporises prostate tissue, patients do not need to undergo surgery that requires overnight hospitalisation and has complication risks, while allowing the body to function again normally. Laser procedures could be performed during the day and those who undergo it could go back to their normal activities faster compared to those who had surgery, reports The Telegraph.

At the same time, if more of older Brit males would take up the laser treatment, it would save the NHS about £3 billion (AUD$5.75 billion) a year. With an estimated 13,600 men diagnosed yearly in England with enlarged prostates, at £60 (AUD$115) per procedure, annual NHS savings in England alone is placed at around £2.3 million (AUD$4.4 million) annually.

NICE guidance suggest special laser treatment for men with enlarged prostates to help relieve symptoms, while those not at high risk of complications would be offered treatment using the GreenLight XPS laser system. According to NICE, the GreenLight XPS laser system is as effective as the transurethral resection of the prostate, but there is insufficient high-quality, comparative evidence to support routine adoption of the treatment on high-risk patients, described as men with higher risk of bleeding, have prostates larger than 100 ml or have urinary retention.

VIDEO: GreenLight XPS Laser Procedure