Everything you need to know about Rezum
30 August 2019
What is BPH?
Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is the medical term for an enlarged prostate causing urinary symptoms by obstructing the flow of urine from the bladder.
These symptoms include:
- Passing urine more often than normal
- Finding it difficult to start passing urine
- Finding there is a longer than normal wait for the stream of urine to begin
- A weak urinary flow
- Dribbling at the end of the stream
- An intermittent stop-start stream
- Having to get up at night to pass urine
- Feeling an urgent need to pass urine that is difficult to defer
Conventional treatment for BPH includes medications to relax or reduce the prostate size which work well in some instances, however, they have to be taken permanently and can have side effects. Alternatively, traditional surgery involves removing the obstructing prostate tissue by resecting it using an electrical wire (TURP).
What is Rezum?
Rezum is a new minimally invasive treatment recently approved for the treatment of BPH. It involves injecting steam into the obstructing prostate from inside the urethra (tube draining urine form the bladder). The steam causes shrinkage of the prostate and this significantly reduces the obstruction and improves urinary symptoms. It is performed under a short general anaesthetic and takes approximately 30 minutes.
What are the advantages of Rezum?
The major advantage of Rezum over conventional techniques is that it does not involve surgical removal of large amounts of prostate tissue, and as a result it does not cause heavy blood loss and complications. In addition, Rezum does not cause loss of ejaculation (dry orgasm and infertility) which is routine after other operations. It is much shorter than TURP or HOLEP and can usually be performed as a day case.
Rezum treatment significantly improves urinary symptoms and preserves sexual function, and is a new alternative to medication and conventional surgery for BPH.
What is the recovery time after the Rezum procedure?
Patients will need a catheter for typically four to seven days after the procedure (depending on the size of the prostate and the amount of steam injected). The full benefits are not seen for six to 12 weeks as this is the length of time it takes for the prostate tissue to fully reabsorb.
Will my insurance cover the Rezum procedure?
Yes, all major insurance companies cover the Rezum procedure.
Which consultants perform Rezum?
Consultant urologists Mr Neil Harris and Mr Oliver Kayes perform Rezum treatment at Spire Leeds.
For further information or to book an appointment call 0113 218 5977.