News

Wellington men will no longer have to travel out of the region for a new laser procedure to treat enlarged prostate glands.

Urological surgeon Jim Duthie has completed the first Thulium laser enucleation (ThuLEP) procedure with morcellation on a patient at Southern Cross Wellington Hospital.

The procedure is the most advanced treatment for an enlarged prostate, medically known as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), a condition in which the prostate gets bigger as men age.

Mr Duthie says the ThuLEP procedure is especially beneficial for men with larger prostates.

“If you have a small prostate, you can just cut out a bit of tissue and pull it out of the bladder. But the real benefit of this is in the big prostates.

“You can remove a much larger amount of tissue with a laser and then you put the morcellator into the bladder and it chews up the tissue into tiny bits and sucks it out.”

This was the first time Mr Duthie, who teaches laser prostatectomy around the country, had done the procedure at a private hospital in Wellington.

Because Southern Cross Wellington Hospital invested in a morcellator device and laser, it means that any man being treated there for an enlarged prostate will have the new ThuLEP procedure, benefitting from the investment and Mr Duthie’s expertise.

“Before now, the guys with bigger prostates either had to leave town or have a standard operation, so a cut in the tummy and a catheter for a week afterwards and it’s not as easy a recovery,” he says.

“This is much less invasive and has minimal downtime.”

Mr Duthie says 50% of men aged 50 have some symptoms of enlarged prostate and this increases with age, so it is something that happens to just about all men as they get older.

“Not all of them will need surgery, but it’s really common and just about all men start getting symptoms at some stage. This means that we now have more options to tailor treatment to the individual.”

During the procedure

During a ThuLEP procedure, the patient is typically placed under a general anaesthetic. The surgeon inserts a scope through the urethra to access the prostate.

Using the laser, the surgeon carefully dissects and removes the prostate tissue. The removed tissue is then pushed through the bladder and later extracted using a morcellator, a mechanical suction device.

Mr Duthie says the first operation went smoothly, taking just over an hour to complete, and the patient is recovering well.

Southern Cross Wellington Hospital Interim General Manager Alison Hegarty says laser enucleation surgeries are an important addition to procedures the hospital provides.

“Having them done here makes it so much easier for people to access treatment in their own area and focus on their health and recovery closer to home.”

Benefits of ThuLEP

Minimal Bleeding: The Thulium laser’s coagulative properties result in significantly less intraoperative and postoperative bleeding, making the procedure safer for patients, especially those on blood-thinning medications.

Effective Tissue Removal: ThuLEP allows for the complete removal of the enlarged prostate tissue, offering substantial and lasting symptom relief.

Shorter Hospital Stay: of common complications such as infection, blood transfusion, and urinary incontinence.

Other Applications: The Thulium laser is also used for dealing with kidney stones so there is more than one application.