Ashima Sharda Mahindra • 18 Nov 2024
What Is PAE, a Minimally Invasive Treatment Known As the Best Option For an Enlarged Prostate?
enlarged prostate causes issues like the frequent and urgent urge to urinate, pain and difficulty and incomplete urination, pain after ejaculation, and blood in the urine
As men age, most suffer from benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), commonly known as an enlarged prostate. According to experts, your prostate is a small gland that helps make semen and is found just below the bladder. While this noncancerous enlargement of the prostate gland usually happens to men above 50 years of age, it leads to a few discomforts.
BPH causes urinary issues like the frequent and urgent urge to urinate, pain and difficulty and incomplete urination, pain after ejaculation, and blood in the urine. Many of these, if not treated well in time, can lead to complications like prostate cancer and infections. “This is because of the enlarged prostate gland compressing on the urethra which left the urine out of the bladder. Usually, a prostate gland of more than 80gms is considered BPH,” Dr. Sridhar Reddy Baddam, Senior Consultant Vascular and Oncointerventions, told Times Now.
According to Dr. Baddam, even though the actual cause of prostate enlargement is unknown, it may be due to changes in the balance of sex hormones with age.
Easy, non-invasive way to treat BPH
Prostate artery embolization is a minimally invasive non-surgical angiogram technique – that helps treat an enlarged prostate and the urinary symptoms it causes. While PAE is not the only treatment, Dr. Baddam says it can be done easily by just inserting a catheter through your wrist. The procedure also has the most successful outcomes with the least complications.
“In PAE, a magical medicine – known as particles are injected directly into the prostate artery, causing the enlarged prostate to shrink over a few weeks relieving the constriction on the urethra and facilitating free flow of urine,” said Dr. Baddam.
How is prostatic artery embolization conducted?
According to experts, PAE is performed by an interventional radiologist – a doctor who uses X-rays and other imaging techniques to see inside the body and treat conditions without surgery. A few steps in which the surgery is done include:
- A Foley catheter is inserted into your urethra and positioned in your bladder to provide a reference point for the surrounding anatomy.
- PAE is performed through a small catheter inserted into the artery in your wrist or groin. The catheter is just guided into the vessels that supply blood to your prostate.
- An arteriogram - X-ray in which dye is injected into the blood vessels, is done to map the blood vessels feeding your prostate.
- Tiny round particles are injected through the catheter and into the blood vessels that feed your prostate to reduce its blood supply.
- The catheter is moved to treat the other side of your prostate, repeating the steps above.
- After the procedure is complete - the prostate begins to shrink, relieving and improving symptoms, usually within days of the procedure.
What are the advantages of PAE over usual surgery?
According to Dr. Baddam, a few reasons why PAE is better, include:
- It does not involve any blade, cuts, suture, or scar technique
- There will not be any bleeding or extended stay in the hospital like in other traditional surgeries
- PAE ensures faster recovery and shorter hospitalization
- It helps preserve sexual function
- The procedure minimizes urinary infections and complications
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