Dilatation of the prostatic urethra with 35 mm balloon.
A series of 54 men, 25 with acute urinary retention and 29 with cytometrically proven bladder outflow obstruction (BOO), underwent dilatation of the prostatic urethra using a 35 mm fixed diameter, low compliance balloon. In 42 patients this was performed under cystoscopic guidance and in 12 patients under fluoroscopic control. Three months following dilatation, 13/27 patients (48%) with BOO who returned for review were rendered unobstructed and 19/27 (70%) were symptomatically improved. By 6 months only 3 remained unobstructed but 15 remained symptomatically improved. Nine months after dilatation 14 patients retained symptomatic improvement but only 2 remained unobstructed. Of the 25 patients treated for acute retention only 6 voided spontaneously, 1 of these relapsing into retention at 2 months and another at 4 months. No patient was rendered unobstructed but 2 patients (who declined prostatectomy) noted an improvement in their obstructive symptoms at both 3 and 6 months. No patient developed retrograde ejaculation following dilatation. Balloon dilatation to 35 mm has no role in acute urinary retention but may have a role in younger men with BOO who wish to avoid prostatectomy and the risk of retrograde ejaculation. In these patients careful follow-up is required.
McLoughlin
J
J
Department of Surgery, Royal Postgraduate Medical School, Hammersmith Hospital, London.
Keane
P F
PF
Jager
R
R
Gill
K P
KP
Machann
L
L
Williams
G
G
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002404:Catheterization / Q000295:instrumentation*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011470:Prostatic Hyperplasia / Q000150:complications; D013997:Time Factors; D014525:Urethral Stricture / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D001748:Urinary Bladder Neck Obstruction / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy*; D016055:Urinary Retention / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*