Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals offers pioneering new robotic treatment for men with enlarged prostates
Wednesday, 1 May 2024
Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has become the first in the North of England to offer a revolutionary new robotic treatment for men with enlarged prostates.
Surgeons at Whiston Hospital are now offering Aquablation Therapy to help men who have a non-cancerous, enlarged prostate with the new treatment set to make a huge difference to those suffering with the condition, which is known as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).
BPH affects up to three million men in the UK, with more than 30,000 men each year needing surgery for the condition.
Though it is not prostate cancer the condition, which is common among men over 50, can have a detrimental impact on a person’s quality-of-life, including a frequent need to urinate and difficulty to fully empty bladders. If left untreated, it can lead to more severe symptoms such as acute urinary retention and infections.
Aquablation is a robotic system that uses high pressure, heat-free, blasts of water to remove tissue from an enlarged prostate. It targets only the necessary areas and ensures the tissue is removed precisely. This leads to fewer side effects than the more traditional Transurethral Resection of the Prostate (TURP) procedure that involves cutting away the section of the prostate using heat.
It can also be performed more quickly, with the new technology meaning the average procedure takes around 40 minutes which is a major improvement on the more traditional surgery which can take up to three hours.
The majority of patients will also suffer less pain and fewer complications after surgery and should be able to leave hospital the same day or after just one night, rather than two to three nights with current treatments.
Mr John McCabe, Consultant Urologist and Surgical Division Medical Director at the Trust, said:
“I am proud that we can now offer this state-of-the-art robotic treatment to our patients.
“Aquablation therapy is a game changer for patients with enlarged prostates and is a fantastic step forward for our patients and the Trust.
“Aquablation uses ultra-sound guided robotic technology to remove unwanted tissue. It is amazingly accurate and takes away only the tissue that needs to be removed. Because it is heat-free there is no burning of tissue which is so much better for the patient.’’
He added:
“We all know the challenges the NHS faces and by harnessing innovative procedures such as Aquablation therapy we can see twice the number of patients than we can with more conventional surgery methods which will reduce waiting times for treatment and make sure the patient gets the treatment they need sooner.
“Importantly the technology is less likely to lead to side effects than comparable treatments, in turn improving patient outcomes and their quality of life and also enables around 90% of patients to be sent home the same day, which is also a huge boost for patients.’’