November 1, 2022 PROSTATE ARTERY EMBOLIZATION
Living with an enlarged prostate might significantly reduce your overall quality of life. An enlarged prostate may cause various problems, including waking you up in the middle of the night and keeping you from doing the activities you like. If you don't do anything about your enlarged prostate, it could make your life harder, whether you have to use the bathroom often, have trouble emptying your bladder, or continue to have urge incontinence.
Houston Vein and Vascular focuses on non-surgical and minimally invasive treatments that enable our patients to live happy and healthy lives. We use the most recent advances in medical treatment technology, such as image-guidance technology, to deliver accurate and effective treatments for various health concerns. We are happy to offer prostate artery embolization (PAE) to our patients whose enlarged prostate is causing them pain.
What Causes an Enlarged Prostate?
The prostate develops in two stages: during adolescence, starting around age 25, and continuing throughout adulthood. As the prostate ages, it may put more pressure on the bladder and urethra, resulting in various urinary problems. Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a problem that affects most men over 50 and creates unpleasant symptoms that may compromise their overall quality of life.
The consequences of BPH are benign, which means they are neither hazardous nor linked to cancer development. While doctors are unsure of what causes BPH, the following people are at higher risk of having an enlarged prostate:
Male patients aged 40 and above
Those with a BPH family history
Patients with obesity or an unhealthy way of life
Diabetes patients or those taking certain medications
Although there is no specific technique to avoid an enlarged prostate, living a healthy lifestyle may be beneficial. The most important thing you can do to avoid problems is to get treatment as soon as you notice symptoms of BPH.
Alternative treatment for an Enlarged Prostate with Prostate Artery Embolization instead of major surgery
At Houston Vein and Vascular, we offer PAE to help our patients overcome their BPH symptoms without resorting to surgery and its inherent risks and downtime. You may be a good candidate for PAE if you have BPH or have symptoms like having to go to the bathroom often or being unable to hold it.
PAE works by limiting the blood flow supplied to the prostate to stop its growth. The prostate will gradually shrink without the vital nutrients the arteries and blood vessels feed on. After PAE, patients' symptoms get better because there is less pressure on the bladder and less interference with it.
The procedure is non-surgical and is completed under local anesthesia with sedation. One of our highly-qualified interventional radiologists at Houston Vein and Vascular performs the process, beginning with a small 3 mm incision in the groin or upper thigh. The interventional radiologist will insert a catheter through the incision, guiding it to the prostate under x-ray guidance. Then, they will do an arteriogram by injecting dye into the blood vessels to show where the arteries that feed the prostate are.
With the prostatic arteries highlighted and the catheter in place, our interventional radiologist, Dr Zarghouni, injects tiny microsphere particles into the blood vessels to embolize or block the blood flow. Once all the needed blood vessels have been blocked, the catheter is removed, and a compression dressing is put on the cut.
Benefits of Prostate Artery Embolization
Patients who undergo PAE may benefit from a decreased risk of problems and fewer side effects and downtime since it is a non-surgical procedure. The most common option to surgically treat BPH, transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP), requires up to two months of recovery and many nights in the hospital. Patients with PAE can expect their symptoms to improve and their recovery much faster and more pleasant.
The results of PAE will continue to evolve as the prostate shrinks over many months. Patients might also choose to repeat PAE if they have more significant prostate enlargement as they age. Patients will gradually improve after treatment, allowing them to reclaim their lives without constant discomfort or fear of the health risks associated with an enlarged prostate. With this successful, less invasive option, you can avoid many adverse events that can happen with surgery such as sexual side effects or pain that doesn't go away.
Houston Vein & Vascular wants to help you conquer your enlarged prostate problems using the most up-to-date, least invasive, and successful techniques. With PAE, we can now help our patients live a healthy, active life without taking them away from their responsibilities for long periods.
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