According to the Urology Care Foundation, about half of all men between ages 51 and 60 and up to 80% of men over age 80 suffer from an enlarged prostate. Typically, the treatment for an enlarged prostate involves surgery and invasive procedures, which detours many men from seeking treatment.
However, one Oklahoma City doctor is performing a new, outpatient procedure that has a 90% success rate of treating prostate enlargement also known as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).
“It is a minimally invasive outpatient procedure that is an alternative to the traditional transurethral surgical options,” said Dr. Blake Parsons of Oklahoma City’s CardioVascular Health Clinic.
Dr. Parsons performs a procedure called prostate artery embolization (PAE), which involves inserting a tiny catheter through an artery in the groin or wrist and advancing it to the arteries supplying blood to the prostate gland. The doctor administers embolic material (tiny spheres) through the catheter and into the blood vessels feeding the prostate, which subsequently decreases the blood flow to the prostate, causing it to decrease in size thus relieving symptoms.
“The procedure is performed in a similar fashion to a heart cath,” Dr. Parsons said. “It typically takes an hour and a half and does not exclude the patient from any other potential future procedures if needed. Success rate of the procedure is 90%.”
Robert McLaughlin, 73, of Oklahoma City, said he first read about Dr. Parson’s PAE procedure in The Oklahoman.
“Before then, I didn't know it existed,” he said. “I've been a typical male undergoing traditional urologic care. I've had prostate problems but didn't want to have surgery. So, when I read about this procedure I thought, hey, I've got to find out about this. The procedure was fantastic, no fuss; anesthesia was great. The results were almost immediate.”
McLaughlin said before the procedure he was getting up 7 or 8 times during the night to urinate. “That's no way to live. Now, I sleep through the night. The results have been excellent,” he said.
CardioVascular Health Clinic is the only provider in Oklahoma that offers the prostate artery embolization procedure. For more information, call 405-369-5443 or go to paeokc.com.
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