Kettering General Hospital starts UroLift procedures to help tackle very common prostate problem

Kettering General Hospital is now delivering a state-of-the-art new treatment for some patients with benign prostate enlargement.

The treatments is called UroLift and involves a 15-20 minute procedure under local anaesthetic that helps permanently widen the urethra – helping resolve symptoms of the common condition which affects many men over fifty.

By opening the urethra – using a number of tiny implants – it helps reduce symptoms such as a frequent need to urinate, difficulty in starting urination, reduced flow, and urinary retention.

KGH Urology Consultant Mr Shady Nafie is the first consultant at the hospital to be trained in the procedure and hopes to make it available to more local people, wherever they live in the county.

He said: “Benign prostate enlargement is common in men over fifty and affects 70 per cent of men over sixty.

“As people age it can become more and more troublesome leading to frequent rushed toilet trips in the night and during the day affecting the quality of life.

“This new procedure has proven itself to have very many benefits and we are pleased to now be able to offer it to suitable patients at KGH.”

Benefits of the UroLift procedure are:

Simple day case procedure in about 15 minutes and go home the same day

• No cutting, heating or removal of prostate tissue
• Quick relief of symptoms enabling a quick return to normal life – recovery is within days rather than months for more involved procedures
• Usually better relief than medication and therefore patients often no longer need to take medications to relieve symptoms (with their associated side effects)
• Only prostate procedure that doesn’t have a risk of creating sexual dysfunction

Mr Nafie did his first UroLift procedures in March 2023 and so far has completed sixteen and hopes to do many more once local GPs and patients become more aware of the procedure.

He said: “The procedure involves inserting the UroLift device into the urethra which can then be used to push back the enlarged prostate tissue anchoring it back from urethra using tiny inserts.

“It is sort of like having hooks on the wall to keep your curtains open.

“Usually we use two or four of the implants to effectively hold open the urethra and then the UroLift device is removed leaving only the very tiny inserts in place.

“It is suitable for most patients with mild to moderate prostate enlargement but it can be unsuitable for patients with very enlarged prostates for whom other procedures, such as laser treatment, is available.”

Patients suitable for the procedure would be referred by their GPs to the urology service at KGH.

So far the early procedures have been carried out in theatre at KGH with general anaesthetic but the hospital is also now starting to offer them under local anaesthetic in our procedures room in the new Urology Centre (which opened in November 2023) inside its Treatment Centre.

Patient says procedure has improved his life

Christopher Stopford, 49, from Raunds, was the first KGH patient to have the procedure with a local anaesthetic after experiencing multiple urine infections and reduced urine flow.

The father-of-two, who works for West Northants Council, said: “I was experiencing a repeated cycle of urine infections treated with antibiotics alongside reduced urine flow, and in the end I was referred by my GP to hospital.

“I then had a number of investigations and was diagnosed with benign prostate enlargement.

“This led to me being offered a variety of surgical options including the new option of Urolift which I was fortunately suitable for.

“I decided that the Urolift procedure was a good fit for me and I had the procedure, which took about 20 minutes to actually perform, on October 13 in the Treatment Centre at KGH.

“It was a little uncomfortable, but painless, and I was able to go home later that afternoon and back to work pretty much straight away.

“The result for me has been life changing. I have had no more urine infections since the procedure, have better flow, and you cannot feel the implants that are put in at all.

“If you are suitable for it I would recommend it to patients with this problem.”