JERUSALEM, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- An innovative treatment to reduce the size of the prostate gland within 10 minutes without surgery was successfully tested at the "Ziv" hospital in northern Israel, as reported Wednesday by the news website "Ynet."
The new treatment is given with a device developed by the Israeli startup company "Butterfly Medical" based in the northern city of Yokneam.
The prostate, shaped as a ring, is located under the bladder. Its function is to produce the seminal fluid that keeps sperm cells produced in the scrotum.
The urethra passes through the center of the prostate, so when it grows inward with age, its lobes squeeze the urethra and prevent proper urination.
About 40 percent of men over the age of 50 suffer from prostate enlargement, and more than 70 percent after age 60.
There are many treatments for urinary incontinence caused by prostate enlargement, such as pills which constrict the prostate. Pills are effective only in some patients, as others suffer from urinary incontinence complications requiring catheter injection, or kidney stones.
Therefore, many patients referred to an hour-and-a-half surgery under anesthesia, requiring two or three days of hospitalization. Sometimes postoperative complications occur, such as recurrent stenosis or bleeding.
Most surgeries are in the form of a stent - a meshed tube that is inserted into the ureter and thus prevents its constriction. However, stents tend to accumulate fur and sand and sometimes cause bleeding, burning and pain.
The latest development is a new, small butterfly-shaped stent, which lifts the prostate's lobes and supports them so that they do not squeeze the urethra and cause it to narrow.
The new device does not meet the urinary fluid and therefore does not expose patients to the risk of infection and stones. The treatment is reversible, as the stent can be removed at any stage.
Patients who received the new treatment said they did not feel the implant in their prostate urethra and did not experience any pain.
