The HoLEP surgical technique offers outstanding results with minimal invasion, significantly reduces hospitalisation time and offers excellent recovery rates.

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Hospital Universitario Son Llàtzer

The Urology Service of the Hospital Universitario Son Llàtzer, directed by Dr. Carlos Gutiérrez, has carried out more than one hundred interventions with HoLEP prostate laser enucleation surgery. Dr. Antoine Teyrouz and Dr. Yago Lago are in charge of this ambitious programme, a pioneer in the Balearic public health system, which began three years ago to replace open surgery, until then essential to treat large prostate adenoma.

Dr. Teyrouz, one of the heads of the Functional Urology, Andrology and Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) Unit, states that “the results obtained with the HoLEP technique are exceptional. The reduction of hospitalisation time by up to 70 %, combined with a minimal complication rate and excellent functional results, demonstrate the effectiveness of this innovative technique”.

HoLEP is a minimally invasive endoscopic treatment that uses the holmium laser to remove prostate tissue that obstructs the outflow of urine. The holmium laser allows coagulation while the tissue is being cut, which substantially decreases the risk of bleeding, with a blood transfusion rate of less than 0.5%.

Laser enucleation of the prostate using the holmium laser offers a minimally invasive alternative for patients with prostates of any size and even prostates previously operated on with traditional resection or green laser.

Dr Teyrouz adds that “this technique is particularly suitable for prostates larger than 40 cc and, unlike classic TURP (transurethral resection of the prostate), it can be applied to large prostates larger than 80 cc, and is also a safe option for patients on antiplatelet therapy due to the lower risk of bleeding”.

After surgery, a catheter is placed in the bladder with a continuous flushing system to prevent clots from forming. The length of surgery depends on the size of the prostate and can be between one and three hours.

Admission time depends on the size of the prostate and can be between one and two days after surgery. Patients are usually discharged home without a catheter 24 to 48 hours after the procedure.

Once at home, a week after the operation, patients receive a phone call from their surgeon to resolve any doubts about their progress and to deal with any possible incidents or complications, which, if they occur, are usually minimal and consist of slight bleeding in the urine, urinary urgency or incontinence for a few days.

Dr. Teyrouz, regarding the future of the programme, comments that “with the satisfactory results obtained and the increasing prevalence of BPH in our community, we plan to double the number of interventions in the next two years. To this end, we are designing a plan to expand our Unit, training more urologists from the Service in this advanced technique”.