If researching treatment options for BPH (benign prostatic hyperplasia), you might have come across GreenLight™ Laser Therapy.
According to The Boston Scientific website, "This treatment option provides rapid relief of symptoms caused by benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). In many cases, GreenLight™ Laser Therapy also offers a shorter hospital stay, less catheterization time, less bleeding, and a faster recovery than traditional surgical options."
Below, our very own Dr. J. Keith Bleiler discusses GreenLight™ Laser Therapy in his own words (the content has been slightly edited for readability). You can also watch the video below—he discusses the procedure at the very beginning.
As with all content on Greater Boston Urology's blog, the following information is educational in nature, not medical advice. Always talk to your physician about your specific health care questions and conditions.
[Editor's note: This article was reviewed and updated on January 17, 2022.]
"GreenLight laser ablation of the prostate is a procedure I've been doing since 2004. It is a procedure to help men empty their bladder better. It's the perfect operation for a guy with a weak urinary stream, frequent urination, or difficulty emptying his bladder. It's the replacement for the old 'Roto-Rooter' job.
"I was really enamored with the way the GreenLight laser allowed us to do everything we could without having to cut into the prostate. We basically ablate it with a laser. It's bloodless, and you can see the entire time. The most important part of it is that the patients achieve a very good quality of life immediately after the procedure. So all of their voiding parameters typically improve very rapidly, very significantly. Recovery is also straightforward. It's an outpatient procedure with a catheter in the bladder overnight that we remove the next day, and I've had patients on the golf course the very next day after surgery once they've recovered from anesthesia."
Dealing with benign prostatic hyperplasia? Interested in learning more about GreenLight Laser Therapy for BPH?
Schedule an appointment with one of our urologists. In addition to Dr. Bleiler, several other GBU physicians are skilled in GreenLight Laser Therapy for BPH, including Dr. Stephen Craig Gillard, who was designated as the first Massachusetts Center of Excellence for GreenLight™ Laser Therapy.