Treatment for BPH depends on the severity of your symptoms and how much they interfere with your lifestyle. Men with minimal symptoms may only need to make lifestyle changes, while those with more pronounced symptoms may require medication or a minimally invasive surgical procedure. Dr. Fenig will help determine which treatment is most appropriate for you.

 
Lifestyle Changes

• Avoid caffeine, acidic drinks such as colas, tomato and orange juice, and alcohol. Cold medications containing antihistamines or pseudoephedrine, and constipation can make it more difficult to urinate.
• Limit evening beverages and urinate when you first feel the urge.

Medications

Recent studies indicate that using combinations of medications, which work by different pathways, may be more effective than a single medication to treat BPH.

Medications may include:

• Alpha blockers to relax the smooth muscle tissue in the bladder and prostate, increasing urinary flow
• Enzyme (5 alpha reductase) inhibitors to shrink the prostate by preventing the conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone, a key ingredient in prostate enlargement
• Anticholinergics to relax the bladder muscle and reduce frequency and urgency
• Herbal products such as saw palmetto, derived from a plant in the Southeastern U.S., may reduce mild to moderate symptoms

Minimally Invasive Therapy

Minimally invasive procedures performed by Dr. Fenig seek to open a passage through the prostate to allow urine to flow with less effort. Many are called "transurethral" because instruments are passed through the opening at the tip of the penis and into the urethra. Dr. Fenig will perform the most advanced treatment using the least invasive technique appropriate to resolve your problem.

• Transurethral needle ablation (TUNA) - radiofrequency waves heat and destroy obstructing prostate tissue
• Laser vaporization of the prostate - a laser heats and vaporizes the obstructing prostate tissue
• Transurethral microwave therapy (TUMT) - microwave energy heats and destroys obstructing prostate tissue
• Transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) - obstructing tissue is removed through a resectoscope; more invasive than the preceding techniques, urologists still use the results from the TURP as the standard by which other transurethral procedures are judged
• Suprapubic Prostatectomy – reserved for extremely large prostate glands, this is an open surgical procedure to remove the obstructing prostate

Contact Dr. Fenig today if you are having symptoms of BPH.