Chemo-ablation of the prostate with dehydrated alcohol for the treatment of prostatic obstruction

Purpose: We confirmed clinically whether chemo-ablation of the prostate with absolute ethanol may be an innovative transurethral approach for the relief of obstructive benign prostatic hyperplasia. Methods: Using the InjecTx endoscopic device (Injectx Inc., San Jose, California) an initial cohort of 15 patients, including 13 who have now been followed more than 1 year, underwent elective transurethral chemo-ablation of the prostate. Results: Preoperative and postoperative comparisons of the American Urological Association symptom score, maximum urine flow rate and prostatic volume reveal significant improvement with minimal discomfort and no major complication. Conclusions: The InjecTx technique proved encouragingly successful in this initial small-scale clinical trial.