August 1, 2010
Michielsen DP & Coomans D. “Urethral Strictures and Bipolar Transurethral Resection in Saline of the Prostate: Fact or Fiction?” Journal of Endourology. August 2010, Volume 24, Number 8: Pp. 1333-1337.
OBJECTIVE: To compare the incidence of urethral strictures after monopolar transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) and bipolar transurethral resection in saline (TURIS) for symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia.
RESULTS: Over 48 months, 255 patients were treated with conventional TURP and 263 patients with TURIS. Patient related, operation, and hospitalization characteristics were similar in both groups. After a mean follow-up of 32.1 months (range 50–7 months), the incidence of urethral strictures was 2.4% in the TURP group. After a comparable period of 31.4 months (range 50–7 months), the incidence in the TURIS group was 1.5%. No statistically significant difference was obtained (P = 0.539). These values were compared with the results of other randomized controlled trials with the same or other bipolar technology. No statistically significant difference in urethral structures was noticed between monopolar and bipolar resections (P = 0.739).
CONCLUSION: With a stricture incidence of 1.5%, bipolar transurethral prostate resection has a low stricture rate, comparable with monopolar TURP (2.4%).
Link to study: http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/end.2009.0575
