BALLOON DILATATION OF THE PROSTATE AS COMPARED WITH TRANSURETHRAL RESECTION OF THE PROSTATE FOR TREATMENT OF BENIGN PROSTATIC HYPERTROPHY

Balloon dilatation of the prostate is gaining widespread recognition and usage. This study compares the effectiveness in the production of symptomatic relief by balloon dilatation performed in 53 patients with that produced by transurethral prostatectomy (TURP) concurrently performed in 43 patients. Based on previously defined selection criteria, 64% of the dilated patients achieved a successful outcome (> 50% reduction in symptoms) if they met the exclusion criteria, but only 31% who failed to meet the criteria achieved such success. By the same definition TURP was successful in 79% of our patients, and in that group the average weight of resected tissue was 35 g. In the remaining 21% of our subjects who did not achieve success following TURP, the average weight of resected tissue was 7 g. The results support the conclusion that balloon dilatation may be effective in treating symptomatic men with small prostate glands, whereas TURP is most effective in treating those with large prostates.