Holep Laser
A minimally invasive treatment for prostate adenoma
Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a common condition in men over 50 years of age. Also known as prostate adenoma, BPH is characterised by an enlarged prostate gland that compresses the urethra channel carrying urine. This causes many patients to feel uncomfortable emptying their bladder or to have frequent urges to urinate. To remove the central part of the prostate responsible for this obstruction, Elsan offers its patients pioneering technology: HoLEP (Holmium Laser Enucleation of the Prostate). Elsan is therefore improving its care offer by treating patients with a technique recognised for its high performance and appreciated for its minimally invasive nature.
Reducing the risk of bleeding with HoLEP
The HoLEP laser presents a major advantage: it allows vessels to coagulate in real time during the operation. The risks of haemorrhage are therefore reduced during and after the operation, which is particularly important for patients taking antiplatelet drugs or anticoagulants. Since bleeding is limited, the hospital stay is shorter – an average of one day, compared to four or five for conventional endoscopic surgery, and nine to 10 for open surgery. This revolutionary technique is also beneficial in that it is suitable for all patients, regardless of prostate size, and shows excellent results since the rate of adenoma regrowth is very low (less than 2%).
An image-guided intervention
The operation is performed under general or loco-regional anaesthesia by Elsan teams specially trained in HoLEP. It involves naturally inserting an endoscope into the urethra canal. The surgeon uses the laser to remove the prostate hypertrophy in a single block by cutting off unwanted tissues. The second step in the procedure is guided by image: the extracted adenoma are pushed into the bladder before being cut into smaller pieces (morcellated) by a special instrument (a morcellator). The pieces are then removed by suction. The operation lasts between 40 minutes and two hours, depending on the size of the prostate gland. At the end of the procedure, patients are fitted with a bladder probe that will be removed within 24 hours.
