A new procedure and clinical trial is underway at The Sunshine Coast Private Hospital at Buderim for male patients suffering from benign prostate enlargement and the troublesome symptoms of difficulty urinating, slow urine flow and night time urination.
A first for the Sunshine Coast, the prostate artery embolisation procedure involves guiding microcatheters through the arteries into the prostate and injecting microscopic particles to block the blood supply to the enlarged prostate gland. This causes the prostate to shrink and soften making the passage of urine from the bladder easier.
Lead researcher, Interventional Radiologist Dr Jonathan Robertson, said that other studies on the procedure overseas have shown great improvement in the symptoms of prostate gland enlargement in almost 80% of men and this improvement was sustained over five years.
“The introduction of prostate artery embolisation will offer men suffering from enlarged prostates an alternative to medication and surgery and it is anticipated that the clinical trial results will further demonstrate its effectiveness,” Dr Robertson said.
“This procedure is one of a number of new minimally invasive treatments for enlarged prostates that has been expanding significantly overseas,” he said.
“The Sunshine Coast Private Hospital’s excellence in prostate care and the state-of-the-art cardiac catheter laboratories have enabled us to initiate this study and put this very promising treatment within reach of patients right here on the Sunshine Coast.”
“The procedure is performed under light sedation as a day procedure. It is an extremely low risk, minimally invasive treatment and no unwanted side effects like erectile dysfunction, urinary incontinence or dry ejaculation that can be caused by other procedures have been reported.”
Wallis Westbrook, General Manager of The Sunshine Coast Private Hospital, said he was pleased to be able to offer this new procedure on the Sunshine Coast.
“We have a long history of providing innovative new services to better the health and wellbeing of the Sunshine Coast community and we are proud to continue this tradition by offering this procedure to local men,” Mr Westbrook said.
Statistics indicate that prostate gland enlargement, also known as benign prostatic hyperplasia, is a condition that will affect more than half of men by the time they reach 70 and can dramatically impact quality of life.
2015 data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed there were around 65,000 men over the age of 50 on the Sunshine Coast which means thousands of Sunshine Coast men may be affected by the condition.
“More collaborative research between Interventional Radiologists and Urologists is needed to compare the various treatments on offer but there have been excellent results from prostate artery embolisation so far and I believe this procedure has a promising future,” Dr Robertson said.
Patients interested in learning more about the procedure or clinical trial can be referred to Dr Robertson for a consultation. Dr Robertson can be contacted on 07 5444 6003 or by visiting www.scendovascular.com.au.
The Sunshine Coast Private Hospital at Buderim has been serving the Sunshine Coast community since 1980 and is part of UnitingCare Health - one of the largest not-for-profit private hospital groups in Queensland which manages more than 1000 licensed beds across four hospitals.