New prostate enlargement procedure at Mesa medical center offers relief, less side effects

Name: Mesa medical center offers new prostate enlargement procedure
Uploaded: 2021-06-16T18:03:23-07:00
Description: FOX 10's Danielle Miller reports.

Mesa medical center offers new prostate enlargement procedure

FOX 10's Danielle Miller reports.

MESA, Ariz. - A new procedure being performed at Banner Baywood Medical Center in Mesa is helping men who have prostate issues.

The technology is said to have proven results with less side effects.

Rahul Mehan, urologist at Banner Baywood Medical Center, explained the typical procedure to treat an enlarged prostate.

"You’re in there and you’re just shaving the prostate and you go as far as you think and you’re done," Mehan said. "There’s a lot of heat generated by that process. and that heat spreads to the outside of the prostate and that could lead to problems with sexual function."

The medical center is the first in the region to offer aquablation, a unique procedure that changes the tradeoff between symptom relief and side effects for men who are struggling with lower urinary tract symptoms, according to Dr. Mehan.

The technology uses a robot and real-time imaging.

"We map everything out that we want to treat, and we push a button and we use…this heat-free water jet to open up the tissue and make this channel where men can now urinate more easily," Mehan explained.

The typical procedure takes a few hours, but with aquablation? Just 15 minutes.

Patient Paul Schween says the reduced risk of losing his sexual function was the deciding factor.

"It was a major concern for me, and when [the new procedure] was explained to me…that was the tipping point for me when I said, ‘Oh for sure I have to go in this direction,’ " Schween said.

Schween says he is fully back to normal and has had no side effects.

For the latest local news, download the FOX 10 News app.