Aquablation Therapy

What’s BPH?

Your prostate gland grows larger naturally as you age. When it enlarges enough to create pressure on your urinary tract, it can interfere with urination. If you have urinary symptoms due to an enlarged prostate, you have a condition known as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).

BPH isn’t a tumor, and having the condition doesn’t increase your risk of prostate cancer.

Symptoms of BPH can include:

• Difficulty urinating
• Dribbling after urination
• Urinary incontinence
• Frequent urination

Left untreated, BPH can lead to more severe complications.

What’s Aquablation therapy?

Aquablation is a minimally invasive robotic surgery designed to treat lower urinary tract symptoms associated with BPH. It is a unique, next-generation treatment that is changing the tradeoff between symptom relief and side effects. Patients can get significant symptom relief with less risk of side effects that impact their quality of life compared to the surgical gold-standard TURP. 

This minimally invasive approach combines real-time imaging, robotics, and heat-free waterjet ablation to precisely and efficiently remove the prostate tissue enlargement without the risk of side effects or complications caused by heat-based treatments. 

What are the benefits of Aquablation therapy?

Aquablation offers good results for most patients with BPH. Those benefits include:

• Tailored to individual patient anatomy
• Low risk of sexual side effects
• Less recovery time compared to more invasive procedures
• As safe as older procedures that carry more risk of side effects

While any surgery involves some risk, the most common side effects of Aquablation, like pelvic discomfort, blood in your urine, and urinary urgency, are usually mild and disappear soon after the procedure.

If you’re a candidate for Aquablation, your Comprehensive Urology provider will inform you of all the risks and benefits of the procedure so you can make the decision that is best for your individual needs.

How does Aquablation work?

Aquablation is performed under general anesthesia. When your provider performs Aquablation, they use a combination of real-time imaging, robotic technology, and a heat-free waterjet to remove excess tissue from your prostate gland.

The surgical robot is preprogrammed with your customized treatment to precisely target your prostate tissue with intense pulses of water. The robot removes the excess tissue. Aquablation typically takes less than an hour.

You might need to stay in the hospital overnight after your Aquablation procedure. You might have some burning during urination and some soreness in your rectum for a few days, but this is tolerable with mild pain medication. You’ll probably be able to resume normal activities within a week of your procedure.

If you’ve been diagnosed with BPH, schedule a consultation at Comprehensive Urology to learn more about Aquablation. Call the office or request an appointment online today.