What is the Prostatic Green Laser?

It is a laser, of great power, that vaporizes and removes the enlarged prostate tissue, without the need of complicated surgical interventions.

This treatment system for the Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) has been developed by the Laserscope company in the United States and represents the most important advance that has been made in the last 25 years for the treatment of this pathology, which affects millions of male patients around the world mainly above 55-60 years.

The system called “Green Light VFP” (Photoselective Vaporization of Prostate) is unique, because it uses a laser KTP (Potassium-Titanium-Phosphorus) of last generation and high energy in conjunction with an optical fiber specially designed for this application.

The union of both (laser + fiber) allows us to vaporize soft tissues, eliminating completely the tissue of the enlarged prostate.

The concept of vaporization consists in the complete elimination of the tissue as well as the simultaneous photocoagulation of the blood vessels, avoiding the possibility of bleeding, which is always the great concern of urologists in the surgery of the prostate.

Postoperative of the Green Laser

Most patients can go home a few hours after the intervention. Sometimes we may consider, for convenience and greater security, that a patient spend the night and return home the next morning, particularly if his operation was performed in the afternoon, or if he has traveled from a province near the surgery site. Most patients get a rapid overall improvement in symptoms, and recover spontaneous urination at around 24 hours.

Most patients can return to their normal activities in the first week.

Duration of the effects of the procedure

The published clinical studies show that the procedure is very long-lasting, with no patient having to be re-operated due to gland growth.

“It reduces the recovery time of traditional days of entry to less than 24 hours and with fewer risks”

Advantages of prostate treatment with Green Laser

According to the clinical data obtained in these studies, no other procedure for the treatment of BPH manifests relief of symptoms as fast and spectacular as the VPF method by KTP laser.

The VFP method by KTP laser “green light” offers the best for the patients affected of BPH, is on the one hand minimally invasive and on the other, it offers lasting results, better than other surgical options much more aggressive (TUR, open prostatectomy, etc. ), avoiding the typical risks and complications that these entail. Its main advantages are:

• It can be administered on an outpatient basis or with minimum hospital admission, between 12 and 24 hours.
• Virtually without blood loss. Ideal for high risk patients on anticoagulant treatment.
• Rapid relief of symptoms
• Rapid recovery of the patient’s normal activity.
• Bladder catheter usually less than 24-48 hours.
• Vaporization up to 2 g. per minute.
• In the 5 years of follow-up at the Mayo Clinic, no patient has been required to be treated again for gland growth.
• Absence of incontinence and impotence in these 5 years of follow-up at the Mayo Clinic.

Side effects, risks and complications

The intervention is generally considered very safe. Most patients have a very high level of satisfaction.

According to the clinical studies carried out, none of the patients has suffered loss of bladder control (incontinence), loss of sexual capacity (erectile dysfunction), has required a blood transfusion, has suffered a post-TUR syndrome, nor has he died.

Impotence and incontinence

Among the most important side effects of conventional surgery are impotence and total or partial urinary incontinence. In open surgery, impotence appears as a sequel between 20 and 30 percent of cases, and incontinence between 5 and 8 percent of those operated on.

The endoscopic techniques reduce this danger enough, but they do not cancel it like the laser.