Retrograde prostatic urethroplasty with a balloon catheter

Twenty-five patients with prostatism and documented BPH who were candidates for transurethral resection of the prostate were dilated for 10 minutes with 25-mm urethroplasty balloons using a retrograde transurethral approach. The procedure was performed under local anesthesia using 2% viscous lidocaine on an outpatient basis. A mild discomfort was experienced by all patients with a moderate urgency sensation. Mild transient hematuria was present in all, which cleared in 4 to 6 hours. Dysuria usually lasted for 72 hours. Significant improvement has been seen in the relief of symptoms in patients without middle-lobe hypertrophy as documented by uroflow studies, voiding cystourethrograms, and retrograde urethrograms. In patients with middle-lobe hypertrophy, moderate improvement in uroflow studies was observed, which correlated well with symptomatic improvement. Rectal US and MR studies have shown no evidence of intraprostatic or periprostatic abnormalities. No complications have been encountered so far. The longest current follow-up is 20 months, with a mean of 10 months