Treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia with water-induced thermotherapy:: Experience of a single institution

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy of and tolerance for water-induced thermotherapy (WIT). Patients and Methods: Between June 1998 and December 1999, 50 patients were treated with WIT protocol. The patients were divided in two groups according to the achieved treatment temperature and the volume of the inflated treatment balloon. In Group 1, the treatment temperature was set at 60degreesC, and the treatment balloon was inflated to 50F. In Group 11, 29 patients were treated with a temperature of 62degreesC, and the treatment balloon was inflated to a maximum of 60F. Results: In Group 1, the catheter was permanently removed in eight of the nine patients who had previously had permanent indwelling bladder catheters (88.8%). The average Q(max) was 11.5 mL/sec; the quality of life (QoL) index was 1.3, and the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) was 6.2. The remaining five patients were not catheter dependent prior to WIT. Three of these patients (60%) demonstrated Qmax improvements from 11.7 to 17.1 mL/sec. In Group II, 11 of the 15 patients (73.3%) who had been catheter dependent resumed spontaneous micturition with a Q(max) of 10.7 mL/sec and an IPSS of 8.5. Conclusion: Water-induced thermotherapy can be performed easily on an outpatient basis under local anesthesia. It is well tolerated by most patients, and the early results are encouraging.