Minimally invasive therapies for BPH continue to evolve over time and with the recent advent of the Rezum procedure we now have another option for men with this disease.  This approach falls in the category of minimally invasive therapies (MIT) that can be done in an office setting.  As with other MIT procedures, this uses heat to treat a specific area of the prostate allowing the tissue to retract back from the obstructed channel thereby opening the passage for better urine flow.

The Rezum procedure is done by starting with a local anesthetic and then placing a cystoscopy in the urethra to plan which areas need to be treated. In most men, the treatment usually only involves four to six areas.  Once the areas have been determined the therapy needle is inserted directly in the first of these areas.  Each area will receive 9 seconds of steam directly from the needle tip into that tissue.    At the end of the procedure a catheter is inserted to allow the urine to drain.  It is typically left for a few days until the initial post procedural swelling has resolved.  After it is removed men will experience some burning and frequent urination for a number of weeks.

On a cellular level, the convective water vaper energy disrupts the cells and the area between the cells and eventually these injured cell will re-absorbed by the body. The outcomes data show most men are at their new baseline at 3 month with significant improvement in irritative and obstructive symptoms, flow parameters and Quality of life scores.  Since the technology is relatively new the data only followed men to 2 years after the procedure.  But the results are clearly durable to that endpoint with improvement in all these parameters.

This procedure can be used for those who do not want to take medication or for the man who has many medical problems and should avoid a full anesthetic in the operating room. For men with BPH and urinary symptoms this is a good option and may help the individual avoid an operation.

The Rezūm System