• Optilume BPH catheter system: This is the newest MIST available, combining mechanical dilation with concurrent delivery of paclitaxel for treating BPH. Mechanical dilation with a double-lobe balloon technology achieves an anterior commissurotomy (split) releasing the constricting lateral lobes, while the delivery of paclitaxel prevents re-fusion of the lobes during healing, keeping the prostate open, restoring the flow of urine and relieving bothersome BPH symptoms. With this procedure, there is no cutting, heating, burning, lasering, steaming or implantations.
• Prostatic urethral lift: Permanent implants lift the prostate and hold it away from the urethra, allowing urine to flow more freely.
• Water vapor thermal therapy: Water vapor (steam) is used to destroy targeted prostate tissue, shrinking the enlarged area of the prostate and improving urine flow.
• Temporarily implanted nitinol device: A temporary device made from a shape-memory alloy is implanted and gradually expands within the prostate to reshape the tissue over 5-7 days. After this period, the device is removed, leaving an expanded pathway for urine flow.
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• Robotic waterjet treatment: A robotically guided camera and ultrasound imaging is used to map the prostate and precisely direct a heat-free high-pressure water jet to destroy excess prostate tissue.
It’s important to consider severity of symptoms, prostate size and medical history when evaluating MIST options.
With the advent of these MIST options, a new era has arrived, providing BPH sufferers with treatments that minimize potential side effects, and improve patient comfort and efficacy.
The bottom line
Medications may be a good option for some patients with BPH, but for others, MIST options will likely be more effective and only require a one-time treatment with lower risk of side effects. Having a good understanding of the many different treatment options available today is the key to ensuring patients find relief and improve their quality of life quickly, with as few side effects as possible and avoiding irreparable bladder damage. There are a number of helpful resources out there with comprehensive overviews of the different options, links to clinical study data, etc. Some I’d recommend include my own Prostate Health Podcast, Grand Rounds in Urology and the American Urological Association.
The tide is turning. Not just in urology but across many areas of medicine. Advances in science are making it possible to meet patient demand for safe, effective, minimally invasive treatment options that don’t require a lifetime of medication usage with problematic side effects.
About the author: Dr. Garrett D. Pohlman is a board certified urologist with the Kearney Urology Center and host of the Prostate Health Podcast.
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