New medical device technologies are facilitating day case surgery, improving patient safety and saving lives through earlier cancer diagnosis.
New medical device technologies are changing the delivery of healthcare. One such innovation has enabled a move to day case surgery for patients undergoing prostate resection – saving money, increasing capacity and improving patient safety; another is helping to save lives through early detection of cancer. Louise Frampton reports.
Prostate enlargement is a common condition in older men – around 60% of men aged 60 or over have some degree of prostate enlargement. The enlarged prostate gland may press on the urethra and so can make passing urine more difficult. The complications of a blocked urinary tract can include severe infections, urinary retention or renal failure. Surgery is offered when problems passing urine are severe, or if drug treatment and conservative management options have been unsuccessful or are not appropriate.
The standard treatment for patients with severe symptoms, who do not respond to medication, is transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) – a surgical procedure that involves cutting away a section of the prostate. An electrical current is passed through a loop, which is pulled backwards and forwards through the prostate tissue to make a cavity and the tissue is washed out. Approximately 15,000 prostate resection procedures are carried out each year in England and Wales.
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