Transurethral prostatectomy for prostatitis

Surgery Overview

This procedure involves removal of part of the prostate gland through the urethra.

A long, thin tube with a viewing instrument (cystoscope) attached is inserted into the urethra. Prostate tissue is removed through the cystoscope.

What To Expect After Surgery

You are usually hospitalized for 2 to 3 days. Complete recovery generally requires 3 to 4 weeks.

Why It Is Done

This surgery may be done for:

• Chronic bacterial prostatitis that resists antibiotic treatment, with or without infected prostate stones (prostatic calculi).
• Repeated urinary tract infections because of another prostate problem for which surgery may be appropriate, such as prostate enlargement (benign prostatic hyperplasia, or BPH).

How Well It Works

Very few studies have been done to see how well this surgery works. It is not usually recommended as a treatment for prostatitis.¹

But this surgery may be worth trying if nothing else has worked, your symptoms are severe, and you feel depressed or upset.

Risks

• Urinary incontinence
• Inability to get or maintain an erection (erectile dysfunction)

What To Think About

To eliminate category II (chronic bacterial) prostatitis successfully, the surgery must completely remove the portion of the prostate that contains the infection.

Complete the surgery information form (PDF) (What is a PDF document?) to help you prepare for this surgery.

References

Citations

1. Nickel JC (2007). Inflammatory conditions of the male genitourinary tract: Prostatitis and related conditions, orchitis, and epididymitis. In AJ Wein et al., eds., Campbell-Walsh Urology, 9th ed., vol. 1, pp. 304–329. Philadelphia: Saunders Elsevier.