Current laser treatments for benign prostatic hyperplasia

The latest technical improvements in the surgical armamentarium are remarkable. In particular, advancements in the urologic field are so exceptional that we could observe the flare-up of robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer and laser prostatectomy for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Photoselective vaporization of the prostate (PVP) and holmium laser prostatectomy are the most generalized options for laser surgery of BPH, and both modalities have shown good postoperative results. In comparison to transurethral prostatectomy (TURP), they showed similar efficacy and a much lower complication rate in randomized prospective clinical trials. Even in cases of large prostates, laser prostatectomy showed comparable efficacy and safety profiles compared to open prostatectomy. From a technical point of view, PVP is considered to be an easier technique for the urologist to master. Furthermore, patients can be safely followed up in an outpatient clinic. Holmium laser enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP) mimics open prostatectomy because the adenomatous tissue is peeled off the surgical capsule in both procedures. Therefore, HoLEP shows notable volume reduction of the prostate similar to open prostatectomy with fewer blood transfusions, shorter hospital stay, and cost reduction regardless of prostate size. Outcomes of laser prostatectomy for BPH are encouraging but sometimes are unbalanced because safety and feasibility studies were reported mainly for PVP, whereas long-term data are mostly available for HoLEP. We need longer-term randomized clinical data to identify the reoperation rate of PVP and to determine which procedure is the ideal alternative to TURP and open prostatectomy for each patient.