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Writer's pictureGold Coast Urologist

Understanding Prostate Surgery and finding the right treatment for you

Updated: Oct 9

Here at Gold Coast Urologist, Dr Elmes offers the full range of new and advanced prostate surgery to help with those irritating prostate urinary concerns you are experiencing due to your enlarged prostate.


No longer do you have to constantly be getting up at night to run to the bathroom or wonder if there is a toilet near by on your next golf day. Here we can offer you a minimally invasive surgical solution which means you will have minimal down-time post your procedure and you will no longer have those frustrating symptoms you previously experienced such as urinary frequency, urgency, dribbling and night-time urination.


Read on to learn more about enlarged prostates and the solutions Dr Elmes, leading Urologist on the Gold Coast can offer you.


Firstly, understanding why you are experiencing prostate urinary problems is important. The medical term for this is known as BPH – Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia. This is essentially when your prostate enlarges which is very common for ageing men. About 50% of men will suffer symptoms related to BPH as they get older and about 20% will need medical or surgical intervention for BPH . Essentially, when your prostate enlarges, it reduces the flow of your urine through your urethra due to the passage way narrowing therefore causing strain and abnormal urinary flow. Below is a diagram of a normal prostate versus an enlarged prostate.



But how do I know if I have an enlarged prostate? Most men will experience a range of urinary discomforts which include:

- Frequency and urgency of urination

- Increased night-time urination, also known as nocturia

- Difficulty starting urination

- Weak urine stream or a stream that stops and starts

- Dribbling at the end of urination

- The sensation you have not completely emptied your bladder


These are all signs you should seek a consultation with a Urologist. The longer you leave these symptoms the more damage you are doing to your bladder.


The good news is that here at Gold Coast Urologist, Dr Elmes has ensured he has the most advanced and effective prostate surgeries available for you.


Below we have detailed the Enlarged Prostate Surgeries Dr Elmes offers. The below treatments are the newest and advanced with improved outcomes compared with older style prostate surgeries. Dr Elmes can offer you no cutting but rather advanced equipment designed to ensure you have a fast recovery and great quality of life after your procedure.


1. The Advanced Laser Prostate Surgery known as HoLEP (Holmium Laser Enucleation of the Prostate).

The Laser HoLEP prostate surgery is considered the new gold standard for men suffering with waterworks urinary issues. It is minimally invasive and follows the exact anatomical planes within a prostate with ultimate precision allowing complete resection of all obstructing tissue whilst preserving the outer capsule, erectile nerves and urethral sphincter.


Its short and long-term outcomes are superior to those associated with older style prostate surgeries:

· shorter catheter and hospital stay

· less bleeding

· lower chance of erectile dysfunction or incontinence

· same maximal flow rate and urinary symptom improvement

· lower reoperation rate

See below the before and after effect of the HoLEP prostate surgery. You can see the obstructing enlarged prostate tissue in left image which is lasered and removed resulting in the clear passage for your urine to flow without any obstruction seen in the other two images.

Watch Dr Elmes perform the HoLEP prostate surgery which resulted in shorter recovery with this patient. You can view the video on our Gold Coast Urologist YouTube channel here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uu8H_m4fOIQ


2. UroLift – internal prostate sutures

The procedure is carried out by inserting several small internal stitiches into the prostate, compressing the tissue outwards and thus widening the internal diameter of the 'urethra' (the tube we naturally urinate out).

UroLift does not involve cutting or lasering of any of the prostate tissue and as such results in an excellent side effect profile:

· No Erectile Dysfunction

· No stress urinary incontinence

· No retrograde (backwards) ejaculation


3. Water vapour prostate steam therapy

Water Vapour Prostate Steam Therapy is a treatment for BPH that uses the stored thermal energy in water vapour (steam) to treat the extra prostate tissue that is causing symptoms such as frequency, urgency, irregular flow, weak stream, straining and getting up at night to urinate.


Inside a hand-held device, radio frequency energy is applied to a few drops of water to create vapour (steam). The water vapour is injected into the prostate tissue that is blocking the flow of urine from the bladder, where it immediately turns back to water, releasing the energy stored in the vapour into the cell membranes. At this point, the cells are gently and immediately damaged, causing cell death.

Symptom improvement following the steam prostate procedure is gradual. During the clinical study significant symptom improvement was seen in as soon as two weeks. Responses to the treatment can and do vary and may take longer.


Watch Dr Elmes perform the Water Vapour prostate steam therapy surgery here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zW-_dPU6FAA


Here at Gold Coast Urologist, Dr Elmes can offer you the all the advanced Prostate surgery options which will ensure you have the right procedure for your prostate resulting in excellent outcomes.


Contact us now on 07 5575 7922 to secure your appointment with Dr Elmes and treat those irritating waterworks urinary issues you have struggled with for too long.



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