The new treatment employs a powerful KTP laser system, recently approved by the FDA to remove prostatic obstruction in a short procedure with rapid recover and offers compelling advantages relative to other therapies.

More than half of all men over the age of 60 develop an enlarged prostate. By age 80, nearly 80% of all men have this condition. BPH may manifest with some or all of the following symptoms:

• difficulty in urination
• reduced flow rate
• frequent urination (especially at night), incomplete urination with leaking
• burning or other discomfort while urinating

Medication can improve the symptoms of BPH, but it requires daily dosing or life with expensive drugs that can have significant side effects. Microwave and radio-frequency therapy offer solutions to men on an inconsistent basis, may require long term catheter drainage, and often take 6-12 weeks to be effective. TransUrethral Resection of the Prostate (TURP) has been the "gold standard" for treating BPH, but requires an in-hospital stay of several days with potential side effects and complications including bleeding, incontinence, and impotence. Patients require a catheter for 2-4 days and the full recover time is about 1 month.

The new procedure is conducted with the Niagara PV Laser and can be performed on an outpatient basis with light or general or short spinal anesthesia, causes negligible blood loss, is relatively painless, and has an extremely quick recovery period with excellent results.

Niagara PV Laser Treatment works by completely vaporizing the excess prostate tissue quickly, immediately sealing the surrounding tissue to minimize any bleeding. The benefit of immediate vaporization is that there is no tissue left behind to slough out, as with microwave and radio-frequency procedures. The procedure is fast (average of 30 minutes) and effective. The patient goes home in a few hours without a catheter or with one that is removed the next morning at home. Flow rates, improvement in symptoms and patient satisfaction exceed the norms for all other procedures. Most patients can resume all activities in 2 weeks.

This procedure has been studied by Dr. Reza Malek at the Mayo Clinic over the last 4 years and has been shown to have unmatched clinical results, durability, safety, and patient satisfaction.

Drs. Novsam and Clubb at the Kenosha Urology Clinic feel this treatment is a definite breakthrough with patients having a simply 30 minute laser procedure, which is minimally invasive, highly effective and with very few risks. Videos of this procedure are available at www.laserscope.com.