MAYWOOD, IL – A minimally invasive water vapor thermal therapy provides significant and durable symptom relief, and improved urine flow, for at least five years in men suffering from lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) due to benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), according to the results of a new five-year study.
“Rezūm™ Water Vapor Therapy is a non-invasive procedure providing sustainable relief from common urinary tract symptoms affecting most older men,” said lead study author Kevin McVary, MD, a Loyola Medicine urologist, Director of the Men’s Health Center in Burr Ridge and Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine professor.
By age 50, more than 50% of men (and more than 90% by age 85) suffer from BPH, which causes a variety of uncomfortable and disruptive symptoms, including: nighttime waking to urinate (nocturia); an increased frequency and urgency to urinate; the feeling that the bladder has not quite emptied following urination; and a weak urine stream.
Water vapor therapy involves the insertion of a scope into the urethra (administered with local anesthesia). A drop of water is then converted to steam and delivered through the scope to the prostate tissues, killing any unnecessary tissue. As the in-office procedure is confined only to the constructive tissue.
The multi-center randomized trial of the Rezūm System included 197 patients, older than age 50, with a prostate volume of 30 to 80 cc. The patients had an International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) of at least 13, and a maximum flow rate (Qmax) of less than 15 ml/s, and were randomized and studies over five years.
“Significant improvement of LUTS” was observed at three months post therapy and remained durable for five years in the treatment group, according to the findings. Specifically, the average IPSS score was reduced by 48%, quality of life scores increased 45%, and Qmax improved 44%. Overall, BPH symptoms 48%. Surgical retreatment rate was very low at 4.4% with no reports of device or procedure related sexual dysfunction or sustained de novo erectile dysfunction.
“This long-term study confirms the safety and efficacy of non-invasive water vapor therapy for this extremely common condition in men,” said Dr. McVary, who is also the executive director of the Loyola Medicine Men’s Health Center. “This therapy is safe, minimally invasive, and highly effective in diminishing LUTS symptoms, without the side effects of medication.”
The study, “Final 5-Year Outcomes of the Multicenter Randomized Sham-Controlled Trial of Rezūm Water Vapor Thermal Therapy for Treatment of Moderate-to-Severe Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms Secondary to Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia,” appeared online in The Journal of Urology.