Transurethral needle ablation of the prostate: Report of initial United States clinical trial

Purpose: We studied the efficacy and safety of transurethral needle ablation of the prostate for treatment of symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Materials and Methods: A total of 12 patients with symptomatic BPH underwent transurethral needle ablation of the prostate. Voiding outcomes, including American Urological Association symptom scores, bother scores, quality of Life scores, peak urinary flow rates, residual urine volumes and urodynamic pressure flows, were measured with time, and immediate and shortterm (6 months) complications were assessed. Results: Transurethral needle ablation of the prostate was performed with local intraurethral Lidocaine anesthesia in 11 patients and general anesthesia in 1. At 6 months there was a 61.7% improvement in American Urological Association symptom score (25.6 to 9.8, p = 0.0001), 61.1% improvement in bother score (18.8 to 7.3, p = 0.0002), 70.0% improvement in quality of life score (13.7 to 4.1, p = 0.0001), 73.0% increase in peak flow rate (7.8 to 13.5 cc per second, p < 0.0001) and 54.9% decrease in the post-void residual (111 to 50 cc, p = 0.0457). Prostate volumes, maximum detrusor pressures and detrusor opening pressures decreased significantly. There were no intraoperative complications. Postoperatively, all 12 patients had mild dysuria for 1 to 7 days, 5 had transient urinary retention for 1 to 4 days, 3 had hematuria for 1 to 2 days and 1 had retrograde ejaculation. Conclusions: This initial United States trial confirms previous experience, and shows that transurethral needle ablation of the prostate appears to be a simple, safe and efficacious procedure for treatment of symptomatic BPH. In addition, it can be performed in the majority of patients using topical urethral anesthesia.