TUESDAY, Jan. 3 (HealthDay News) -- Use of a prostatic urethral lift procedure, a minimally invasive treatment for lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) resulting from benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), preserves sexual function, according to a study published online Dec. 16 in The Journal of Sexual Medicine.
Henry H. Woo, M.D., from the University of Sydney in Australia, and colleagues performed the procedure on 64 men (average age of 66.9 years and an average duration of LUTS of 4.7 years). Study inclusion criteria included International Prostate Symptom Score >13, peak urinary flow rate of 5 to 12 mL/second, and prostate-specific antigen <10 ng/mL. Patients were evaluated at six weeks post-procedure and again at three, six, and 12 months, using the Baseline Sexual Health Inventory for Men (SHIM) and Male Sexual Health Questionnaire for Ejaculatory Dysfunction instruments.
The researchers found no evidence of decline in sexual function after treatment for LUTS with the prostatic urethral lift procedure. Erectile function, as measured by SHIM, was slightly increased at all evaluation points as compared with baseline. No patients reported retrograde ejaculation.
"We demonstrated significant improvement in LUTS with no evidence of degradation in erectile or ejaculatory function after treatment with the prostatic urethral lift procedure. This procedure warrants further study as a new option for patients underserved by current treatments for LUTS/BPH," the authors write.
The study was funded by NeoTract Inc.
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