In a recent Department of Veterans Affairs study involving 556 men at several medical centers, researchers systematically compared men who underwent TUR to men with moderate to severe BPH symptoms who opted for watchful waiting. The average age of patients was 66; the study lasted three years.
In this study, the TUR patients were the clear winners in terms of symptom improvement and quality of life. They had “significantly fewer treatment failures, fewer crossovers to alternative treatment, and less bother from urinary symptoms,” the researchers noted. (Some men in the watchful waiting group eventually decided to have a TUR to relieve symptoms.) Men in the TUR group also had a greater improvement in their symptom scores, urinary flow, and quality of life. (Interestingly, spouses or “significant others” were also asked to evaluate their mates’ quality of life, and their reports confirmed the patients’ own assessments.)
The researchers concluded that TUR was safe, that it did not cause incontinence and impotence, and that it was associated with very few short- or long-term complications in men who didn’t have any serious health problems; reoperation rates were also low. Based on these findings, they determined that TUR was superior to watchful waiting in reducing symptoms and improving quality of life in men with moderate to severe BPH. However, they also noted that watchful waiting didn’t cause significant harm to anyone—and therefore, that for men with tolerable symptoms a conservative approach is certainly reasonable.
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Tags: Erectile Dysfunction | Men’s Health
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