Urolift is a brand-new way to treat your enlarged prostate.

An enlarged prostate can cause a wide variety of uncomfortable symptoms. Medically known as Benign Prostate Hyperplasia (or BPH), an enlarged prostate is a relatively common condition, especially as men age.

Traditionally, BPH was treated using TURP surgery, a procedure that usually involves trimming the size of the prostate. Urolift, however, can treat an enlarged prostate without any such trimming and without relying on medication. As a result, the novel Urolift approach available to patients at the Iowa City Ambulatory Surgery Center can eliminate the need for painful surgery and lead to an increased quality of life for patients with BPH.

What is Urolift?

An enlarged prostate can cause issues with the bladder and urinary tract. For example, many men will report increasing trouble with urination as the prostate size increases.

Urolift is an outpatient procedure designed to eliminate the symptoms of an enlarged prostate. This novel procedure can be performed by urologists at the Iowa City Ambulatory Surgery Center. As with any outpatient surgery, patients will be able to return home the same day as their procedure.

Patients can expect the following during their urolift procedure:

• You will be given local or general anesthesia, whichever you and your urologist agree will be best for your temperament and your health situation.
• A small tube, called the Urolift Deliver Device, will be inserted through the urethra. Your urologist will lead the tube up the urethra until it comes into contact with your prostate.
• The Urolift Delivery Device will then place a number of implants (usually four) around your prostate. These implants will lift the prostate away from your urethra, increasing the size of the opening.
• This increased opening will make urination significantly easier and minimize other symptoms of an enlarged prostate.
• Once the implants are in place, the Urolift Delivery Device is removed.
• After recovering from the effects of the anesthesia, patients are allowed to return home.

Because no damage occurs to the prostate, there is usually no need to leave a catheter in place after a Urolift procedure. Most patients are able to resume most normal activities, including returning to work, within 2-3 days of the procedure. Your urologist will provide you with more individualized recovery instruction. Check out this animated video to learn more about the urolift procedure!

The Benefits of Urolift

Urolift is a relatively novel approach to treating an enlarged prostate. Because the procedure is minimally invasive, Urolift is a viable alternative to both medication and surgery. Urolift generally offers the following benefits over other traditional BPH treatments:

• Because there is no damage to the prostate, sexual function and urinary tract function are not impacted at all. Indeed, there are no reported incidents of resultant erectile or ejaculatory dysfunction after a Urolift procedure.
• Some medications for enlarged prostate can have unpleasant or undesired side effects. Successful treatment with Urolift can make taking those medications unnecessary.
• Urolift is a minimally invasive procedure, so there’s very little downtime involved. Other prostate treatments, such as TURP, may often require surgeons to leave a catheter in place after the procedure. This isn’t always necessary with a Urolift.

In general, Urolift can generate the same results with an easier recovery period. And that’s something patients truly appreciate.

The Benefits of Outpatient Urolift

For Iowa City ASC Urolift patients, there are significant benefits to undergoing a Urolift procedure as an outpatient surgery. Some of those benefits include:

• Decreased chance of infection: Because ASCs have a lower patient population, you’re less likely to run across other patients who might be ill.
• Improved technology: Our Iowa City ASC has access to the latest technological innovations designed to make you comfortable, deliver results, and keep you safe.
• Lower cost: In general, having a procedure performed in an ASC setting incurs significantly lower costs than having the same procedure performed in a hospital setting.
• Outpatient procedure: The Iowa City Ambulatory Surgery Center specializes in outpatient surgery, which means we’re designed specifically to help you go home the same day as your procedure.

A New Way to Treat an Enlarged Prostate

Urolift is becoming an increasingly popular way to treat an enlarged prostate. Because it’s non-invasive, Urolift can be an attractive solution–you can enjoy the relief of your symptoms without a lengthy or uncomfortable recovery process.

Only a urologist with admitting privileges to the Iowa City ASC can refer you for a procedure at our ambulatory surgery center. If you want to have your Urolift procedure performed at the Iowa City Ambulatory Surgery Center, talk to your urologist or doctor about how to seek a referral.