Bumrungrad Urology Center was successful in treating patients with enlarged prostates with water vapor therapy. Today, the center has treated over 100 patients in this manner and is the first such center in Thailand and Asia to be certified in the use of water vapor therapy in the treatment of BPH by Boston Scientific.

 
Anyone can experience health problems and they can negatively affect one’s lifestyle and make daily living difficult. While many conditions can be avoided through preventative care, others are age-related – like having an enlarged prostate, which can lead to urinary difficulties. Such cases are on the rise, as the average life expectancy has increased.
 
Dr. Teerapon Amornvesukit, Urology Specialist (Genito-Urinary) at Bumrungrad International Hospital, spoke regarding the continuous effort of Bumrungrad in delivering the best treatment results. Recently, the Bumrungrad Urology Center was successful in treating patients with enlarged prostates with water vapor therapy.  Today, the center has treated over 100 patients in this manner and is the first such center in Thailand and Asia to be certified in the use of water vapor therapy in the treatment of BPH by Boston Scientific. The certification was granted based on a review of our clinical outcomes with the use of water vapor therapy over the previous nine months, which show that between 70% and 95% of patients who received water vapor therapy were satisfied and a 1-month post-procedure evaluation, which showed an improvement in urinary flow for our patients. This low-risk outpatient procedure only takes 10 to 15 minutes to complete, and the patients do not need to stay at hospital. It has fewer risks, and much reduced impact on the patient. It has zero or minimal effects on sexual function. Importantly, those with chronic conditions, like heart disease, stroke, diabetes, or obesity, may be able to take advantage of this treatment option.

 


Further, the Bumrungrad Urology Center provides minimally invasive surgical options for over 95% of those requiring surgery. Taking the treatment of BPH as an example, aside of medicinal treatments, we offer water vapor therapy and surgical laser treatment. The key treatments we offer include:

• HoLEP (Holmium laser enucleation of the prostate) employs a laser to go around the prostatic tissue obstructing the urethra. This procedure can be used to treat BPH, no matter the severity and is another choice which can deliver a success outcome over the long-term, while reducing the risk of blood loss and can even perform a biopsy of the prostate to detect cancer. Only 0.7% of patients treated with HoLEP required a second surgery within ten years of the original procedure, which is the lowest revision rate among BPH treatments.
• Da Vinci is a robot assisted surgical procedure used to treat a variety of cancers, like kidney cancer and prostate cancer, for which it is very effective because its robotic arm can move in 7 directions to give the surgeon maximum control while only requiring an incision of 0.5 to 1 centimeter. This facilitates precision surgery on complex organs and is far more accurate when compared to open surgical procedures. Da Vinci also allows for less blood loss during surgery and for faster patient recovery.

Dr. Teerapon Amornvesukit added “The Bumrungrad Urology Center has experienced and knowledgeable team of doctors who can use a plethora of modern surgical tools to effectively. For example, Erectile Dysfunction (ED) is seen in males and can be cause by low testosterone or a deterioration of the penile tissue. However, there are many treatment choices, like medications, external vacuum pump, injections, or surgical penile implant, which is another safe choice, which can have a good outcome and reduces the risks associated with taking medications-- including preserving penile sensation and capacity to orgasm, while having high patient satisfaction.