Shannon Medical Center | Health Beat | Winter 2020

6 HEALTH BEAT T he Shannon Clinic Urology Department is excited to provide a new treatment for benign prostatic hyperpla- sia, a common problem for men over 50. Shannon Clinic is the first facility in this area of West Texas to offer Rezum therapy— a procedure that uses the natural energy stored in water vapor, or steam, to shrink hyperplastic tissue. It is typically done under local anesthesia in the office in less than 30 minutes. Benign prostatic hy- perplasia, or BPH, is an enlargement of the pros- tate gland.This enlarge- ment can compress the urethra, which reduces flow of urine from the bladder, sometimes block- ing it entirely. “BPH generally affects men over the age of 50, with increasing frequency with age,” says urologist Bradley McIver, MD. “The most common treat- ment in the past has been either medications or a day-surgery procedure to open the prostate, called transurethral resection of the prostate, or TURP. While TURP works well, it does involve a hospital visit and anesthesia and is more expensive.” The symptoms of BPH are very common occurrences in men of a certain age, Dr. McIver says. “Men who are experiencing these types of symptoms (listed in the green box at right) should make an appointment with any of the urologists at the Shannon Clinic. We will then do a treatment assess- ment to see if Rezum therapy or other treatments are the best option for them. We want each patient to get individualized, appropriate treatment from the options available.” RELIEF WITHOUT SURGERY Rezum is a great alternative for men looking for a safe and effective BPH treatment experience. “For a long time, we’ve been looking for something that we could do for those patients who would like to be off their medications or those that aren’t quite ready to have surgery,” Dr. McIver says. With Rezum, patients can usually be in and out of the office within ap- proximately a half-hour appointment. After the prostate is numbed and the patient is placed under a local anesthetic, a small apparatus is inserted into the bladder through the urethra for direct visual imaging. Once the appara- tus is in place, a small, curved needle penetrates the skin of the prostate to begin the steam therapy. “We use the convective energy of steam to inject the prostate for nine seconds at a time,” says Dr. McIver. “This allows the water vapor to go into the prostate tis- sue and causes the cells inside to die. We de- termine the number of injections a patient needs based on the size of their prostate—usually be- tween six to 12.” After completion, patients are sent home with a catheter that will be used for a short period of time to help with irritating urine symptoms.They will also be set up with a follow- up appointment in six to eight weeks to check the improvement of their symptoms. It takes around two to three months to see the full benefit as the tissue dies and recedes. WHAT TO EXPECT “While the majority of men at their six-week appointment say their urine stream has im- proved, some still have irritating symptoms that take longer to resolve,” Dr. McIver says. “How- ever, generally as time passes, they will be very pleased with their outcome. Once the patient gets to where they’d like to be, we’re able to stop medications and just be available if they do develop symp- toms again.” Before Rezum, patients are initially asked to rate the severity of their symptoms on an AUA symptom scale from 0–35, with 0–12 being minor, 13–20 moderate, and over 20 severely bothersome. Upon completion of a follow-up exam, this treatment has shown to cause an average decline of 9–10 points, as well as an expectation of about 30% reduction in the size of their prostate. “So if they come in and report their symptoms are a 20—which would be considered moderately severe bothered—they’re likely eventually expected to improve to around a 10 after the procedure,” explains Dr. McIver. “Their body’s natural healing response will remove the dead cells, which will de- crease the prostate by one-third of the original size.” Men’s health A new way to treat BPH Shannon now o f f e r s Re zum the r apy Symptoms of BPH include: ■  ■ Urinary frequency. ■  ■ Irregular flow. ■  ■ Urgency to urinate. ■  ■ Slow or weak stream. ■  ■ Straining. ■  ■ Getting up multiple times during the night to urinate. Help is here! Call the Shannon Clinic Urology Department at 325-481-2231 to learn more about Rezum therapy and BPH or to schedule a treatment assessment.