Urolift - Review

leon, i just had Rezum done. it didn't work for you at all? I'm waiting for some improvement after 3 weeks.

u are right that laser techniques such as greenlight and holep will give u retrograde ejaculation, but urolift will not. but it is a surgery, no one can rule out accidence nor could anyone give u 100% guarantee.

Did you already have urolift or are you planning on having it? If Rezume didn't work I would be reluctant to try another procedure without trying to understand what went wrong with the first one. Hopefully Rezume wasn't as painful.

dl, you are right again 😀 about mild symptom relief in Urolift vs most other procedures. However, you are wrong about promoting Ken as the Urolift resident expert. I like Ken a lot but he should be disqualified because he is too biased against everything out there but Urolift.

Also, one should know that Urolift success rate is only in the 60s so there is a good chance that you have no improvements after Urolift. Hank

thanks, hank!

I indeed didn't know urolift only has a success rate of only 60%. I am shocked of such low rate!

Readers who are thinking of doing urolift may want to know my reputable uro just told me that the reoperation rate for urolift is 33% within 3 years (or 5 years, my memory is vague.). Compare this to holep, which sure to give u RE, it is less than 5% within 10 years, over which period holep patients maintain the excellent functional outcomes produced by holep.

But again, the ability of urolift to preserve ejaculation is unparallel, a champion in all BPH surgeries that are known to me. This is not hard to understand, urolift uses implants to pull open the prostatic urine channel, it does not cut away any tissues. thus sexual functions are all not disturded unless the nurve bundle is accidentally hit by or clamped under the implants.

But if preserving sexual functions are definitely can not do without at any cost, there is no choice but to take the 60% sucess rate and 33% reoperation rate within 3 years and go for it and don't look back.

As far as i know, u are doing the right thing.

It does not take any wisdom to figure out that if the prostate continue to grow eventually the implants, when they are successful, will not be able to counter this growth and the urine channel will become narrower. But more and new implants can be put in to counter the growth. eventually the growth is just too much for the implants to resist. other type of procedure will have to be considered . but by then, it would have been several years after the initial implants. perhaps not having RE is no longer the sole objective.

Hey Hank.I was reading a article the other day. Urolift is at 78 % That was after the 5 year study. It all depends on what it is going against. You also have to make sure that the prostate is the problem. The Urolift does what it is suppose to do make a tunnel. It will open you up and take pressure of the bladder.

I may be bias on the Urolift but that was for me. I picked it because I did not want any sexual problem and I did not want to lose my ejaculation. At 63 I am very happy with it. And after I had the Urolift it is more intense then it was when i was younger.

All I try to do is get men to do there research on a procedure that they are going to have. There should not be any surprises after surgery. I have help men pick other procedure and have stuck by them and I was there for them to vent or anything they want to talk about

We are all different and we all have our own concerns on life and the way we what to live them. Life is to short to give anything up just to pee better. As we get older there is enough that is taking away for us that we don't have any control over.

Take care and have a great dayKen

I am going to have to read up on that. Repeat rate was at 3% at one time. Give me something to do after my bath Have a good day Ken

Hey Ken, do you remember where you read the article that claimed 78 % success rate for Urolift ? It is very high? Being biased is part of human nature. Many people here have that. I am just trying to keep you on your toes. 😀 Keep up the good work, nevertheless. Hank

It's no problem. Going to have to look again. Most of the time I print it up Have 5 lose leave folder of procedure and meds. I think it was a trial against another procedure. I will let you know Have a great day Ken

Hi dl, below is a quote from a New York urology specialists office that actually do Urolift:

"Urolift is effective to 60-90% of patients. However, 10% of patients require a different surgical procedure within 3 years of treatment with Urolift. Another 30% of patients either resume or start medications for enlarged prostate after treatment with Urolift."

Urolift is great at sexual preservation, which is critical for playboys like Ken,😀 and it is a true minimal invasive procedure. However, one needs to know its weaknesses : mild symptoms improvements, lower success rate, and lower durability.

Of course, if it does not have those weaknesses, all the other procedures would be out of business. Keep up the good work ! Hank

dl,

PAE preserves sexual function because it doesn't heat or cut the prostate directly.

Tom

THANKS HANKKEN

Oh, no! ALL of us have been mislead by Ken! No way will trust Ken again!

Ken： don't worry, just kidding. i trust u, u are one of the most helpful people if not the most helpful person in this forum.

Hank: thanks for the info. the numbers for urolift are worse than what i posted. it does seem like a short term fix (no intention to offense u, ken.).

i don't mean to offense anyone. it is mainly due to my ignorance and being uninformed. it seems that upon closer examination, both PAE and urolift have their weaknesses. these weaknesses are not commonly known to the public. perhaps no one will agree with me.

hello tom,

recent clinical trial results have showed that erectile dysfunction after PAE could be as high as fifty odd percent. there is a member Gene who is the most knowledgeble person on PAE as well as he had PAE done begote and i have not had PAE.

u can read gene's posts on PAE on the thread, my terrible PAE experience.

It's no problem. All procedure have there good and bad. Not just Urolift and PAE. All of us on here have different concerns on what we are looking for. It gives us options.

Like you said before we have to make a list of what we what from a procedure. For myself all I needed was the Urolift. It did what it was suppose to do and what I was looking for.

There have been a lot of men that went for a procedure and thought it was going to be the only one. And they ended up having a Turp and 2 Laser procedure or 2 FLA and so one. Also the Rezum procedure. Men have gone for that because they did not what to have major surgery. But I know of 5 men that it did so much damage that they ended up having a Turp to clean up the mess.

Some men can have one and be done with it but then there are others that there prostate just grows and grows or they get a procedure that there prostate was not the problem.

I for one can not see going for a procedure that they just keep cutting and cutting. For me If I have a problem in a few years. I would be happy to go and have another couple of clips put in and give me another 4 years. But that is my choice.

It is good to do your research on a procedure that we are looking into. Urolift we know that it does not help if you are in retention. I new that a few years ago when I asked my doctor when I was helping Frank. He is still doing CIC going on 2 years I think. He's 89 and did not want to have surgery where they only gave him a 50- 50 chance of any procedure working so why have it..

Life for us men are not just cut and try and we don't have a fit's all. I wish we did. But we do what we feel is right for us and we move on.

I for one do not take a fence with anything that anyone says. We are all on here to try to help our fellow men with there problem. I am happy that we have site like this now. Years ago you have no one to talk to or fine out anything if your doctor just run you through.

I know I have talked about my doctor. I was glad I found him. He will answer any question I have or ask him if one of the guy's wants to know anything. He is very young and know a lot for is age. He will not push a procedure. It is up to you. He wants to know your concerns If you ask him about a pill he will tell you what he knows and if not he will have the nurse print up the information for you

Well that all I have to say for not. Have to do more reading before my son comes home. I wish you all good health and a long life God Bless Ken

thanks ken, enjoy ur time with ur son! Son is more valuable and important than any bph problems!

dl,

I had a PAE 14 months ago. My equipment still works, but, my erections aren't as strong, so perhaps there is some amount of ED. There really isn't any one procedure that doesn't have some unwanted side effect. I just find it frustrating that in this day and age of "modern" science we can't figure out why the prostate grows and we can't come up a pill that effectively reverses the process without major side effects. Yes, I know about avodart and finasteride but just look at the list of potential bad side effects.

Tom

Yes Tom I wish they would fine out why. It would save us a lot of problems.I did read something about it. The doctor said that it has something to do with a hormone that is in our body.He said that when a male start puberty there is a hormone that starts the prostate to grow and then shuts off when it get to normal size.

But then when we get to 40 this hormone starts up again and keeps going. It will stop on some men but will not stop on others.I hope they continue with the research. Take care Ken

i agree that there is not a procedure that has no side effect. we all need to pick one that fits our objective. u are quite sure ED is due to PAE?

It also doesn't always work. I had a PAE in 2015, and had no symptom improvement. A lot of things can go wrong in this procedure. In my case, the IR was only able to get to one side. I did not want to spend another $7000 for him to attempt the other side.

i beleive that u made a good decision. since sexual dysfunction rate in PAE could be as high as 56%, there is 1 in 2 chance one will get it. I suspect the cause could be due to nerve damage when blood is blocked in vessels or by the procedure. not sure if u agree.

once the nerve which controls a specific sexual function is damaged, it could not be reversed. Gene who has extensive knowledge about PAE may know the real cause. he also said that there is a new PAE called perfect PAE, which i don't understand and which may offer better result.

dl,

Before the PAE I was able to get erections that were hard. Then, I noticed that after, they were soft. I had read everything I could about the PAE procedure prior to treatment and was on this forum a lot. ED never came up as a possible side effect, ever. It's possible that the same action that shrinks the prostate (cutting off blood flow) also cuts off blood supply to the nerves that cause erections. I say possible, because this is a guess on my part.

Tom

tom, very sorry to hear about ur situation. we all try to do research before the surgery, but is never enough and we always missed some key info we came to regret. u are not alone, it happen to all of us.

if u still interested in finding out more , i just posted some research results on the thread "SIMPLE ROBOTIC PROSTATECTOMY".

ken, hope your are still on this thread. ( Or anyone else with a suggestion) .I have a question. I have had all kind of exams, Cat Scan, sonograms , water retention analysis, cystoscopy and more. My urologist has said I would be a candidate for Urolift. But he also said I have an over active bladder. I asked another doctor who may do the Urolift, " if I have an over active bladder, which DOES empty but does not fill up sufficiently, how can Urolift help? He said the muscle in the bladder gets too large and active when the prostrate gland is too large. 3 months or so after the Urolift procedure it will recede and no longer be as active as it is now. Does that seem correct? Posted 7-11-21.

Hey Lee

This is Ken. I hope your doing okay.

What will happen is the they will open you up with the Urolift and this will help your bladder. You have a overactive bladder because of the urethra going through the prostate which is causing you the problem.

If you decide to have the Urolift make sure you ask for a catheter. This will help because after you have the procedure you will be swollen and will not be able to pee. Men had to go to the hospital after they went home and ended up with a catheter for a week.

When I had mine I only had it for 2 days. It did hope a lot. I'm here iof you need anything else.

Ken It is over 7 years for me still open

thanks ken, that will help me make my decision . The doctor doing the Urolift said basically the same thing. But it sounded a bit strange. He recommended a catheter for one, maybe two days. With your advise, and confirmation I will have the catheter. You are a great help on this site.

Lee

No problem

It is better to have it put in when you are out. A few day is not much to deal with. It is better then having it put in when you are awake and have to have it for a week.

Good luck. If you need anything I'm here for youKen

Hi Ken,

I noticed in an earlier post that you mentioned the Urolift procedure was not effective for correcting urine retention. Is that the case? My symptoms are not too bad at this juncture, but my Urologist is very concerned regarding the amount of retention. I am also seriously considering Aquablation. I appreciate any information or reference articles you can provide regarding this issue.

Thanks!

Please stay away for the Aquablation It is just another way of doing a Turp. They cannot a just the jet, They are also have problem with the bleeding. I was reading that there are some doctor that if you want a Aquablation they want you to also have a PAE to stop the bleeding. This make no sense to have 2 procedures done. I do not know if you are concerned with retro But it is like s Turp Every thing is destroyed

If you can pee some you could have the Urolift. This would open you up. My prostate was closed tight. My doctor put in 4 clips It is 7 years and I'm still open. Good luck don't be forced into anything Look at the side effects. Doctors will overlock the side effects. They are trying to sell the procedure that they do

Good Luck Ken

Hey Ken. I'm going in on Friday. wish me luck and prayers.

Hey Michael

What are you having done....Ken

Michael

Do you mine that you are have a Urolift done. Do yourself a favor. Ask your doctor to put a catheter in for a couple of day. This way you will not have a problem

I'm telling you this because of the research I did when I had mine 7 years ago. Right after you will be able to pee but when you go home you may have a problem because the prostate will be swollen. If this happen you will have to go to the ER and have one put in.This one you will have in for a week.

Good luck to you my friend. I would rather have it put in when I'm out then when I'm awake......Ken

Hey Buddy

I just wanted to say good luck to you. I will say a prayer for you in the morning

Be safe....Ken

Hi Ken

I had aquablation 3 years ago now im worse then ever just dribbling most of the time, i dont know what to do now ive been staying away from Hospitals with covid going around but i must do something what would you suggest and anyone else on this forum?

Thanks Grant

Hey Grant

So sorry that this is happening. Have you been check. Did your prostate grow back. I would like to know why. They are saying that this is a great procedure. Where did you have this done. Do you have any other side effects

When did the problem start again. I know you have to be careful of covid but you need to see a Urologist to see what is going on.

I'm so sorry that you had this done and it failed youKen

Hello again Ken.

can you, or anyone here answer these questions? I am a bit concerned. I had the procedure done 4 days ago. :I would like to know if there is any possibility that Urolift can cause erectile dysfunction. And, after surgery, how long before one can have an erection and ejaculate. thanks

for others, It seemed to go well, but the catheter was left in for 4 days in order to expand the urinary canal. It was the most painful 4 days of my life. when it came out today, the pain was gone. Any reply is appreciated.

Hi ben there,I took my friend to the hospital last month for holep. He had a very enlarged prostate, 110 g. The surgery went well, but they had to put a net or something to hold it in place for two weeks. He had bladder spasms until it was removed on the 14 day. very painful . I had the same reaction from the catheter but only 4 days. But he seems ok after 6 weeks now. And his problem seems to be solved.

Hi Ken,

I just noticed this message while posting about my Aquablation procedure a couple of days ago. I thought I might provide an update that would prove helpful. After this post I found out that Urolift would not work for me. I ended up getting Aquablation via Dr. Kriteman in Atlanta a little over a week ago. It was the best decision I could have made. It is not just another version of TURP which has a high rate of side effects. The surgery is performed by a robot and is very precise with less than one percent of ANY side effects. I had virtually no pain during or after the procedure, just a small dull ache for a couple of days in the prostate area and no need to even take a Tylenol. I posted a complete description of my experience a few days ago, but I do not know how to direct you to it with this system. Suffice it to say, I can pee normally again, I do not wake up to pee at night, I'm pain free and am not retaining urine. I feel like it's a miracle. I did have some bleeding at the beginning, but it was gone after about 48 hours and was told it was nothing to be concerned about. I don't know about retrograde ejaculation yet because I'm supposed to lay off sex for a while, but the chances are supposed to be almost zero. I definitely do NOT have erectile dysfunction. Life is great again and I would highly recommend Aquablation, especially if conducted by Dr. Kriteman...he's performed more than anyone in the world which is why I went to him.