Prostate Conditions

What Is The Prostate? 

The prostate is a gland about the size of a walnut that is located in front of the rectum just below the bladder. It wraps around the urethra, which carries urine out of the body. The prostate is part of a man’s sex organs and is responsible for producing fluid that is part of semen. Regardless of age, men should see a doctor right away if they notice any of the following eight signs of prostate problems, such as:  

• Frequent urge to urinate 
• Having to get up during the night to urinate 
• Presence of blood in urine or semen 
• Feeling pain or a burning sensation while urinating 
• Inability to urinate 
• Painful ejaculation 
• Urine dribbling 
• Recurrent pain or stiffness in the lower abdomen, hips, pelvic area or upper leg 
  

Common Prostate Conditions

The prostate can be affected by several conditions, each with unique causes and symptoms. The three most common culprits concerning prostate health are inflammation (prostatitis), an enlarged prostate (benign prostatic hyperplasia, or BPH) and prostate cancer.

• Prostatitis is an inflammation of the prostate gland, often resulting in pain and urinary symptoms. It can be triggered by a bacterial infection, among other factors.
• Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) is a non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate that can lead to urinary symptoms.
• Prostate cancer is a malignant growth within the prostate. It often grows slowly and may not cause symptoms in its early stages.

Understanding your prostate health is the first step towards taking control of it. Each of these conditions requires a unique approach to treatment, making a correct diagnosis crucial if you're experiencing prostate-related symptoms. 

What Is Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH)?

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) or an enlarged prostate, is a noncancerous condition where the prostate grows larger than average. The condition, common in men over the age of 50, occurs when the cells of the prostate gland begin to multiply. These extra cells cause the prostate gland to swell, which squeezes the urethra and limits urine flow. BPH is not the same as cancer and doesn’t increase cancer risk. It can, however, cause symptoms that can affect your quality of life.

If left untreated, BPH can cause significant health problems, including irreversible bladder or kidney damage, bladder stones and incontinence.

Palm Beach Health Network offers several minimally invasive procedures to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). One of the new, innovative ways to treat BPH is through aquablation therapy.

What Is Aquablation Therapy?

Aquablation therapy is an advanced, minimally invasive treatment for BPH that uses the power of water delivered with robotic precision to provide best-in-class and long-lasting symptom relief with low rates of irreversible complications, regardless of prostate size or shape.

Palm Beach Health Network is proud to offer aquablation therapy at Delray Medical Center, a new advanced, minimally invasive surgical treatment for lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) due to benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Delray Medical Center was the first hospital to offer aquablation therapy in Palm Beach and Broward Counties.

In clinical studies, aquablation therapy has been shown to provide both best-in-class and durable symptom relief with low rates of irreversible complications. 

As with any medical procedure, your doctor will determine if you qualify as a candidate for aquablation therapy.

Potential Benefits of Aquablation Therapy May Include the Following:

• A more minimally invasive approach than other robotic-assisted surgeries
• Can treat an extensive range of prostate sizes and shapes for BPH
• No incisions needed with access to the prostate through the urethra
• Minimal sexual side effects. Less erectile dysfunctions and a higher rate of continence preservation and ejaculatory functioning
• Catheter time is one to three days following surgery
• Less anesthesia time for the patient
• Procedure is less than 40 minutes, with an actual average resection time of fewer than 10 minutes

Screening for Prostate Cancer 

Screening for prostate cancer is available and early diagnosis can help prevent the disease from spreading as well as lead to treatment options. An elevated prostate-specific antigen level (PSA) determined by a blood test is a common reason for a man to undergo a prostate biopsy. A prostate biopsy procedure retrieves prostate tissue suspected of cancer that is tested, and reviewed by a pathologist under a microscope to determine if diseased cells are present. Prostate cancer diagnosis occurs after a biopsy procedure is tested and reviewed for the disease. Palm Beach Health Network offers advanced technology for urology care including targeted MRI/ultrasound fusion guided biopsies with robotic precision to detect and manage prostate cancer. 

Benefits of Robotic Prostate Fusion Biopsy 

Prior to targeted MRI/ultrasound fusion guided biopsies, finding location of cancer within the prostate gland could be challenging. Conventional TRUS prostate biopsy techniques could produce in some instances “blind biopsies” since urologists could not easily view the specific location of any abnormal tissue. Some benefits of the ARTEMIS 3D Semi-Robotic Prostate Fusion Biopsy System can include: 

• Significant improvement in the accuracy of prostate biopsy 
• Precise needle navigation to identified lesions 
• Exact reproducing of treatment for analysis and re-biopsy 

Prostatectomy with the da Vinci® Xi Surgical System

Often, men facing prostate cancer surgery are concerned about post-surgical pain, lengthy recovery and a potentially long-term impact on continence and sexual function. Using robotics in prostatectomy, removal of the prostate, surgeons can take a minimally invasive approach to this delicate procedure. Rather than open surgery, the robotics system allows surgeons to use small incisions with micro-instruments, operating in a tightly confined area that contains many nerves that affect urinary control and sexual function.

Prostatectomy with the da Vinci® Xi Surgical System has been shown to have the potential to substantially reduce post-operative pain while hastening recovery. Studies also indicate that this procedure may offer improved cancer control along with a lower incidence of impotence and urinary incontinence.